- The PS urged PWDs to take an active role in climate negotiations.
- She said the move will not only foster justice and equity, but also create more effective and resilient strategies that benefit all.
Image: FILE
Women with disabilities want their voices included in shaping inclusive climate solutions across Africa.
Gender Principal Secretary Anne Wang'ombe said persons with disabilities face higher risk in the face of natural disasters, displacement and access to resources.
“However, they are also critical contributors to building climate resilience. Their insights, experiences and innovative approaches are valuable in designing inclusive solutions that work for everyone,” Wang'ombe said in a speech read on her behalf by Ivonne Ndanu.
Wang'ombe said it is no longer enough to acknowledge their vulnerabilities.
“We must ensure that persons with disabilities are actively participating in the shaping of claiming policies and negotiations. Their voices must be heard at every table where decisions about collective future are being made.”
The PS urged PWDs to take an active role in climate negotiations.
She said the move will not only foster justice and equity, but also create more effective and resilient strategies that benefit all.
The National Gender and Equality Commission CEO Betty Sungura decried that PWDs, particularly women, were among those least able to access emergency support.
Sungura, in a speech read on her behalf by Ruth Njenga, said the society must be mindful of the barriers that women with disabilities face, from physical and institutional barriers, to social stigma and lack of representation.
“Our discussions and actions today should focus on dismantling those barriers and creating an environment where every individual has the opportunity to contribute to climate actions.”
Sungura added that given that women with disabilities are affected by climate change, they must be taken into account in climate action efforts.
She said disability inclusion must be incorporated and mainstreamed into policies.
Sungura said programmes and climate change actions need to be meaningful, informed and ensure the effective participation of women with disabilities.
There is a need, she added, to ensure that there is access to information to empower them, noting that the commission has come up with programmes helping special interest groups.
She cited the implementation of a project on the aspect of green energy solutions in 2021, saying it has been rolled out to 20 counties to promote and mainstream issues of special interest groups.
The two-day event brought together women leaders with disabilities, policymakers, climate experts and advocacy organisations to strategise on ways to amplify the participation of women with disabilities in climate change adaptation and mitigation efforts.
It is part of the 'Strengthening the Voices of Women with Disabilities to Actively Participate in Climate Change Policy and Negotiations' (Strevow) project.
Strevow is an initiative by the Inclusive Climate Change Adaptation for a Sustainable Africa and the Centre for Minority Rights Development.
It aims to empower women with disabilities in East Africa and Small Island Developing States to actively participate in climate change policy and negotiations.
Funded by the Africa Climate Change Fund of the African Development Bank, the project is committed to amplifying the voices of women with disabilities, ensuring that they have the right tools, knowledge and information to be part of climate change programmes designing and implementation.
The project is engaging women with disability from several countries, including Burundi, Comoros, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Seychelles and Uganda.
The impacts of climate change disproportionately affect vulnerabilities faced by women with disabilities, exacerbated by the intersections of gender, disability and socioeconomic inequalities, which often go unaddressed in climate action dialogues and policymaking.
People with disabilities are excluded from economic opportunities, underrepresentation in the formal workforce, locked out of land ownership, lack access to justice and lack assistive technologies.
Women with disabilities now want aid beyond representation, inclusive climate action, access to health, affordability and inclusive infrastructure.
To advance their agenda, women with disability have established a continental Alliance of Women with Disabilities.
The alliance ensures that their voices are included in shaping inclusive climate solutions across Africa.
Globally, people with disability constitute about 15 per cent of the population, with women and girls with disabilities making up about six per cent of the global population.
Political participation for women with disabilities in Africa is notably low, with only five per cent holding elected office, according to the African Development Bank.
Statistics show that people with disability are often overlooked in climate change adaptation and mitigation measures with only six per cent of related projects addressing their needs.
Kenya has legislation touching on persons with disability (Persons With Disability Act 2003) and Climate Change Act 2016 but many feel that they have done little to help, especially about the impacts of climate change and women with disability.