UN Women Executive Director calls for increased support for women at the Sahel Region during the IMF-WB Annual Meetings
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UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, is on a visit to Bali, Indonesia, from 12 to 16 October to participate in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group.
Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka will speak at a high-level event on the Sahel organized by the United Nations, in partnership with the World Bank, the G5 Sahel and the Alliance Sahel, on 13 October. During the event, two initiatives on climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy that will specifically target women and youth in the Sahel region were launched.
Even though women are responsible for producing over 80% of the food consumed in the Sahel region, there is a gender gap in agricultural productivity in the region. Women have unequal access to key agricultural inputs such as land, fertilizer, technology, improved seeds and information. They can’t access finance and bank lending as well as access the market to sell their produce especially as smallholder women farmers.
This weekend's meetings w/ @IMFNews & @WorldBank in Indonesia marked the announcement of our initiatives on climate-smart agriculture and renewable energy that will specifically target women and youth in the Sahel region: https://t.co/3ZZ44PyWZe pic.twitter.com/0siuiSnwn2
— Phumzile Mlambo (@phumzileunwomen) October 15, 2018
These new projects are aimed at accelerating prosperity and lasting peace in the region by empowering vulnerable populations. This will be done by transforming agricultural systems in ways that support sustainable development and safeguard food security through climate-smart agriculture approaches.
During the visit, the Executive Director will also participate at an event with Plan International to mark the International Day of the Girl Child (October 11), where they will hear the testimonies of girls affected by recent natural disasters in Indonesia.
She will also participate in a session on financing initiatives focused on women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship at the Women Entrepreneurs Financing Initiative (We-Fi) meeting, a partnership among 14 governments, eight multilateral development banks (MDBs), and other public and private sector stakeholders, hosted by the World Bank Group. Meetings with Government authorities to discuss UN Women support to their work on gender equality, especially on ending discriminatory laws and harmful gender practices will also take place.