By Matilda Atieno
The County Government of Kisumu and Transparency International has made substantial progress in mainstreaming gender in climate action with a focus on capacity building to understand the linkages between gender and climate change and the tangible tools and approaches that encourage gender-responsive adaptation.
Kisumu is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, with extreme weather events affecting the community every year. To address this, the county government of Kisumu is set to advance gender mainstreaming in climate change to ensure gender-responsive county actions across six priority sectors.
In a speech read on behalf of the CEC member for Climate change Marylyn Agwa, the director for climate change Evans Gichana recognized that climate change affects women and men differently and that women and men have distinct capabilities as agents for change toward effective adaptation and mitigation.
The CEC acknowledged that Women suffer more from the impacts of Climate Stress as compared to their male counterparts in developing countries and a policy that focuses on gender mainstreaming and adaptation, calling on efforts to roll out the impacts of Climate Stress.
A two-day workshop on mainstreaming gender into climate change was organized to help increase the resilience of the Seme Subcounty community to climate change-induced hazards. This was introduced to the participants as the significance of gender mainstreaming in dealing with any disaster risk situation including environmental hazards.
The Seme Ward Climate Change Planning Committee (WCCPC) was taken through the gender and environment linkages, synergizing county commitments for gender and climate action, and developing innovative projects that empower women and men alike as agents for change, strengthening the county’s readiness for climate action and resilience.
The Transparency International project Officer Mr. Paul Wambua emphasized the steps taken to integrate gender equality and social inclusion into the county’s climate change action plans in relation to budgeting and planning processes to address gender gaps as well as facilitating better responses to community needs.
At various levels, the County government has shown interest and ensured support in gender mainstreaming across their programs in line with the county and national commitments, especially KCCCAP, NDCs, and SDGs.
