ICEHD Calls for Policy Reform, Health Security for Women Farmers

Against the backdrop of climate change, the International Centre for Environmental Health and Development (ICED), has called on policymakers and stakeholders to decisively influence policy reform as well as health Insurance for women farmers to achieve climate justice in Nigeria by 2023.

Speaking during the recent Policy Advocacy Forum and Book Launch, held in Lagos, the Program Officer of ICEHD, Mercy Joshua, noted women are the majority of the world’s poor and are more dependent on natural resources, becoming more vulnerable than men to climate change impacts.

She said: “We are calling on policymakers and all stakeholders to influence policy reform for mainstreaming gender in agricultural budgeting and financial I inclusion, to active climate change justice. Nigeria’s climate has been changing, evidenced by the increase in temperature, variable rainfall, rise in the sea level and flooding, drought and desertification, and land degradation, these changes bring a gendered impact, as it disproportionately affects women and widens gender inequities.

“As climate change hits Nigeria, small-scale women farmers count losses because they play vital roles in agricultural production and are key to Nigeria’s food security.”

Speaking further, Joshua said amid these challenges, the initiative has with the support of the African Women’s Development Fund (AWDF) embarked on a two-year project on ‘Climate Justice and Economic Resilience for Women Farmers in Nigeria’.

“The project aims to increase the number of rural women farmers in Nigeria skilled in climate-smart agriculture, publicly projects women’s voices on climate justice and advocate agricultural reform to advance women’s rights, and sensitive policy officials on gender/climate change,” she revealed.

Also speaking at the event, Dr Ndudi Bowei, said that the project has been educating the women farmers on climate change and the way forward.

“We causally cater to widow female farmers. Since this project came up, we have been like partners at ICEHD and I also have been an advocate for climate justice. A lot of them don’t know that what has been affecting their crops and farmland is climate change. They only know that the weather is changing and the rain routine has changed, but this project has been initiated to educate and enlighten the farmers,” she said.