Gender responsive climate resilient solutions in Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s mission is to reduce poverty by “spurring sustainable economic development and social progress in its regional member countries (RMCs).” To do this, gender is a central component of the AfDB’s work. Throughout a number of key strategies and initiatives, including the AfDB’s Ten Year Strategy (2013-2022), the “Feeding Africa: An action plan for African agricultural transformation” initiative, and the AfDB Strategy for Addressing Fragility and Building Resilience (2014-2019), all prioritize gender in African development. Additionally, the AfDB’s 2014-2018 Gender Strategy explicitly recognises the role of gender equality, such as gender equitable access to property, financial services, and decision-making spaces, if development goals are to be realized. The Inclusive Climate Change Adaptation for a Sustainable (ICCASA) program was created to promote gender mainstreaming in climate initiatives, including policies and negotiations, to ensure climate actions help both women and men prepare for climate change. In addition to negotiator trainings, the development of training manuals, policy briefs, and a gender and climate vulnerability hotspot analysis, project activities included the review and analysis of relevant literature and data on gender, climate risks, and gender mainstreaming in 10 African countries, including: Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, and Uganda.
