Accra: A three-day workshop focused on enhancing gender and climate responsiveness in local planning concluded with a strong call for district assemblies to integrate these priorities into their development strategies. The event was organised by the Strengthening Investments in Gender-Responsive Climate Adaptation (SIGRA) Project in partnership with Women in Law and Development in Africa (WiLDAF) and Dream Hunt Ghana. Participants included representatives from Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and women-led groups.
According to Ghana News Agency, Ms. Elham Mumuni, Gender and CSO Advisor for the SIGRA Project, highlighted the workshop's success in helping participants align district development plans with gender and climate objectives. She emphasized the importance of proper budgeting and implementation for gender and climate-related initiatives to ensure accountability and progress tracking.
Ms. Mumuni also identified the lack of sex- and gender-disaggregated data as a significant obstacle in designing effective plans, stressing the need to enhance Monitoring and Evaluation systems to improve data collection and create evidence-based future plans.
Madam Melody Darkey, Executive Director of WiLDAF Ghana, praised the active involvement of CSOs, women's groups, and community-based organisations in the workshop. She encouraged participants to apply their new knowledge to engage effectively with assemblies and drive their plans forward.
Mr. Wisdom Attigah, Planning Officer of Anloga District Assembly, noted that the training had significantly improved their ability to prepare new four-year Medium-Term Development Plans with integrated gender and climate considerations, thus better meeting community needs.
Representing CSOs and women-led organizations, Ms. Ivy Bedi, Project Officer for Global Action for Women Empowerment (GLOWA), urged assemblies to engage constituents when preparing budgets to ensure they address actual needs. She stressed that gender and climate responsiveness in planning is essential given the current climate change challenges.
