Helping women adopt climate-resilient livelihoods

The government and UNDP yesterday jointly launched a six-year long project worth $33 million that will benefit almost 7 lakh people -- mostly women and adolescent girls -- in climate vulnerable districts of Satkhira and Khulna.

A total of $25 million will come from Green Climate Fund (GCF), a global fund created by UN member countries, while Bangladesh’s ministry of women and children’s affairs is providing $8 million, according to a statement of UNDP.

The project, launched at a workshop in Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies yesterday, will provide assistance to women and girls to adopt resilient livelihoods while ensuring reliable, safe drinking water through community-managed rainwater harvesting solutions.

It focuses on enhancing women’s access to markets and finance. In addition to training in business development, the project will link producer groups to business via networking activities and will provide support to access credit from the financial sector.

Addressing the workshop, Kamrun Nahar, secretary to the women and children’s affairs ministry, said, “The project will make a paradigm shift in women’s empowerment as ‘change-agents’ to plan, implement, and manage climate-resilient solutions to safeguard livelihoods and lives and help us become a middle-income country.”

UNDP’s Resident Representative, Sudipto Mukerjee, said they are committed to leave no one behind in implementation of the sustainable development goals by 2030 with the government and partners like GCF.

However, he said, the goals cannot be achieved if women remain ignored as they are more vulnerable to adverse impacts of climate change, given the higher risks they face and bear greater burdens every single day.

“That’s why, through this project, we are specifically focusing on women and girls to help them adapt better to climate change in Bangladesh,” Sudipto added.