A communiqué issued by the inaugural Africa Women and Children Conference (AFRIWOCC) underlined the various ways in which the impact of the climate catastrophe on African women and children might be alleviated.
Participants at the recently concluded two-day meeting in Accra attempted to address the negative consequences of climate change on vulnerable communities.
They also attempted to record indigenous knowledge and breakthroughs in climate change remedies.
The two-day conference, titled 'Amplifying the Voices of Women and Children in Climate Action,' began on Wednesday, August 4.
Participants in the conference highlighted the significance of presenting a unified African voice on climate action, particularly as it relates to the effects on women, children, youth, and people with disabilities.
The conference determined that insufficient institutional capacity and high levels of gender inequality have exacerbated the negative effects of climate change in Africa, especially for women and children.
It also noted that Africa's climate crisis has had a negative impact on food security, disproportionately affecting women and children, resulting in widespread malnutrition, poor health outcomes, conflict, and increased exposure to violence.
Furthermore, the conference emphasized that Africa's youthful population poses both an opportunity and a danger to societal cohesion if appropriate investments in positive climate action are not undertaken.
Participants must shift their focus from problem-solving to discovering and grasping opportunities for innovation, creative solutions, education, and empowerment, particularly for women and children.
They also asked for greater efforts to be made to include the voices of African women, children, and youth in climate debates at all levels.
They also emphasized that while funding for green initiatives is available, it is not easily accessible to women and youth who are climate change actors.
The conference suggested a number of actions to address some of the important observations.
These include, among other things, gender-balanced delegations to climate change conferences, the adoption of indigenous and locally-led interventions, capacity building and participation of traditional authorities in climate action, prioritizing women and children issues in government policies, integrating climate education into basic school curricula, and development partners designing gender-sensitive programs.
The AFRIWOCC 2023 suggestions will be reviewed and perhaps revised for acceptance at the Africa Climate Summit/Week in Nairobi, Kenya, in September, and the UNFCCC Conference of Parties (COP) 28 in Dubai later this year.