Five years after the Federal Government approved Nigeria’s first National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change, stakeholders say inadequate funding, weak institutional structures, limited technical capacity and poor gender-disaggregated data are slowing its implementation, particularly at the subnational level.
At the launch of an assessment report on the implementation of the action plan in Abuja, stakeholders called for stronger coordination and dedicated financing as Nigeria prepares for the next phase.
For millions of Nigerian women and girls, particularly those whose livelihoods depend on agriculture, water resources and the environment, changing weather patterns can deepen economic and social vulnerability.
This reality informed the Federal Government’s decision in 2021 to approve Nigeria’s first National Action Plan on Gender and Climate Change.
The plan was designed to ensure that gender considerations are integrated into Nigeria’s climate policies and its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
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With the first phase of the action plan now concluded, the Women Environmental Programme, WEP, and its partners are assessing the progress made, the challenges encountered and what needs to change.
While acknowledging some progress, the assessment identified critical gaps affecting implementation.
These include the absence of dedicated funding for gender-responsive climate programmes, limited domestication of the action plan at the subnational level, low awareness, and inadequate capacity among relevant stakeholders.
For women and girls living on the frontlines of climate vulnerability, the success of the next phase will not be measured by another policy document alone.
But by tangible changes in their homes, farms, businesses and communities.
The Women Environment Programme and its partners believe that Nigeria already has the policy framework, but what is required now is the political will, sustainable financing, stronger institutional capacity and reliable gender-disaggregated data to translate the policy into action, particularly where it matters most – at the grassroots.
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(Editor: Ken Eseni)
