CSOs faulted for promoting gender-blind disaster risk financing

The civil society in Malawi has been involved in Climate Disaster Risk Financing and Insurance (CDRFI) advocacy since the inception of the InsuResilience Multi-Actor-Partnerships (MAPs) Project in 2020.

However, according to a concept note by the Civil Society Network on Climate Change (CISONECC), it has been evident that there is a general lack of, or inadequate capacity of the organisations to apply gender lenses in CDRFI advocacy.

“In principle, this means that the civil society has been promoting CDRFI that is mostly gender blind. Ideally, CDRFI approaches need to be gender responsive or better still, gender transformative. This, therefore, means that the need for orientation for MAP members in Gender Transformative Approaches for effective CDRFI cannot be overemphasized” reads the note.

CISONECC has organized training for members of Malawi MAP for CDRFI in Gender Transformative Approaches (GTA) for supporting effective climate and disaster risk management to capacitate them with necessary knowledge and skills so that they effectively engage in gender transformative CDRFI programming.

A research report on actions for small-scale farming communities on Gender-responsive CDRFI in developing countries conducted by CARE International drew recommendations for the civil society to promote gender responsiveness.

The recommendations include: supporting, designing and promoting mechanisms for building evidence, securing and promoting gender equitable access to CDRFI solutions that reflect differential perspectives for women, men and other marginalized communities including indigenous communities

Another recommendation touted the participation, review and monitor the feedback and complaint mechanisms in CDRFI schemes and contribute to developing joint solutions that reflect more innovative schemes and approaches, transparency, accountability and do-no harm principles.

“Initiate and engage in outreach and advocacy efforts to promote pro-poor and gender responsive CDRFI products among smallholder women farmers and act as transparency guardians and duty bearers at community, sub national level and national levels; and (d) track, monitor and review inclusion of specific commitments to risk transfer through pro-poor and gender-responsive CDRFI solutions and their impact to national commitments, policy dialogues and to strengthen protection and commitments towards women farmers, marginalized communities and demographics”.

The MAPS Program on the concept seeks to ensure strengthened structures, coordination, networking and technical capacities of MAP cooperation partners’ campaigns.

Through the platform, stakeholders make conscientious, explicit and wise use of current best evidence from systematic research and data management in ensuring that CDRFI policies, processes, initiatives are guided by human rights principles such as universality, indivisibility, equality and non-discrimination, participation, and accountability.

The focus is on developing the capacities of both ‘duty-bearers’ to meet their obligations, and ‘rights-holders’ to claim their rights; it means ensuring intentional employing of gender considerations in the design, implementation and results of CDRFI programmes and policies.

These include mechanisms and conditions reflecting males’ and females’ realities and needs, valuing their perspectives, respecting their experiences, understanding developmental differences between males and females and ultimately empowering the gender that’s being left behind.

It means ensuring that participants recognize the constraints to access that impinge upon the poor as they make decisions about CDRFI, and development and implementation of actionable priorities for interventions to accelerate poverty reduction thereby enhancing access.