The Graça Machel Trust hosted a compelling side event during the first Africa Climate Summit (ACS), held in Nairobi Kenya on 5th September 2023.
The session recognised women as key players in adopting sustainable practices essential for meaningful change. We learned that integrating gender-responsive strategies in climate policies will enable women to play an active role in climate change mitigation, adaptation and just energy transition.
The session with Mrs Graça Machel during ACS with strategic partners in the climate and energy sector was inspiring. Mrs Machel emphasised the importance of women working together through networks to gain access to decision-making spaces and wield influence. She stated, “Today, we are not in the room with the decision-makers. This needs to change. As women, we need to demand access to spaces where we can co-create solutions.”
Key takeaways from distinguished speakers:
Dr Amany Asfour, Chairperson of New Faces New Voices Egypt:
- Include women in rural areas and look at how to maximise their access to and usage of 49% of the renewable energy in Africa, from solar to wind energy.
- Policy frameworks should accommodate women, and standardised processes can facilitate cross-border trade and export markets.
- Emphasis on including women in processing raw materials to retain value within Africa.
Bertha Dlamini, African Founder of Women in Energy and Power:
- There is an urgent need to shift 900 million people to clean cooking solutions for people to use their time for more productive activities, instead of gathering cooking fuel.
- Collaboration and leveraging proven network solutions, such as those pioneered by the Graça Machel Trust, are essential for transforming women’s roles in Africa’s transition to green energy.
Nilza Issufo Abdula, Vice-President, Directorate Council of Mozambique Woman of Energy:
- Indigenous knowledge systems are valuable in addressing climate change and fulfilling the continent’s energy needs.
- Emphasised the importance of bringing local communities together to share knowledge and amplify their voices.
Dr Yvonne Maingey-Muriuki, Founder of CaelKlima and Climate Change Expert:
- Equity must be central in climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts.
- Acknowledgement of women, especially young women, as co-creators of solutions rather than mere beneficiaries.
As the Trust continues to champion positive change, we emphasise the need for women to be in decision-making spaces, so that they are active participants and not just bystanders in Africa’s climate change adaptation and green energy transition.
The Trust supports and mobilises civil society networks on issues of ending child marriage, ending violence against children, ending female genital mutilation and promoting children’s rights, to carry out advocacy and action across Africa. Special focus is placed on Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia where child marriage continues to be a problem largely driven by poverty, gender inequality, harmful traditional practices, conflict, low levels of literacy, limited opportunities for girls and weak or non-existent protective and preventive legal frameworks.
Education is a fundamental right for all children, which is also a vehicle for social, economic and political transformation in communities, countries and the African continent at large. Recent studies indicate a lack of progress in some of the critical commitments aimed at improving education quality, access, retention and achievement, particularly for girls. In most African countries, girls may face barriers to learning, especially when they reach post-primary levels of education. By implementing multi-dimensional approaches to education which includes core education, personal development, life skills and economic competencies, the Trust partners with funding partners, governments, civil societies and the private sector to improve education access.
The Nutrition and Reproductive, Maternal, New-born, Child and Adolescent Health and Nutrition, (RMNCAH+N) of the Children’s Rights and Development Programme aims at promoting the Global Strategy for women, children and adolescents’ health within the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda. The strategy emphasises on the importance of effective country leadership as a common factor across countries making progress in improving the health of women, children and adolescents.
Through its Early Childhood Development (ECD) plan, The Trust will seek to put into action the new science and evidence Report that was presented by Lancet Series on Good and early development – the right of every child. This will be achieved by mobilising like-minded partners to contribute in the new science and evidence to reach all young children with ECD. The Trust’s goal is to be a catalyst for doing things differently, in particular, to rid fragmentation and lack of coordination across ECD sectors. In response to evidence showing the importance of political will in turning the tide against the current poor access and quality of ECD. Even before conception, starting with a mother’s health and social economic conditions, the early years of a child’s life form a fundamental foundation that determines whether a child will survive and thrive optimally.