A Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Nigeria Environmental Study Action Team (NESAT), has urged all developmental groups to engage more women in policy development, especially in tackling climate change issues.
Its Execcutive Director, Dr Gloria Ujor, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), on Saturday in Abuja.
Ujor said that if women were given the opportunity to plan and strategise on climate change issues people would live in a greener and more friendly environment.
According to her, more advocacy is needed in creating more awareness on the role of women on issues that are more women disadvantaged.
“Women are not involved in policy development especially as it concerns developmental sectors, they are not involved in the planning and programming, they are only remembered occasionally.
“We advocate that there should be increased awareness creation in getting women to be involved in all developmental sectors,” she said.
Ujor added that women were more disadvantaged with respect to climate change especially issues bordering on unprecedented droughts, flooding and scarcity of rain.
“Today we are talking about climate change, and it is one of the global problems which are monumental.
“When there is scarcity of rainfall, crop production reduces, the women and children suffer more because they are less capable to withstand survival of its effects.
“Women suffer loss of eyesight and other health problems due to cooking with fire woods, and other faulty sources of energy.
“During water scarcity, women trek long distances and get exposed to too much sunlight in the process which have resultant prolonged effects on them.
‘If women are involved in planning and strategising, they will create more awareness and take better care of themselves.
“Government should be aware that women are going through these issues.
“There is need to reach out to women, there are different categories of women and they have different problems.
“Any programme that should have impacts on women should start from the grassroots level, it shouldn’t be what we decide at the office.
“With advocacy, we can get women involved and they can key into these activities.
“If there is a plan, it has to be done continuously and be sustainable,” she said.
She appealed to government to identify as well as develop programmes and plans that could accommodate more women.
