UN Officials Call for Gender Parity to Boost Climate, Pandemic Response

By Xinhua 

Jul 14, 2022

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Adequate involvement of women and girls in efforts to tame the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis is key to boosting the resilience of societies already reeling from economic fragility, senior UN officials said on Wednesday.

Anita Bhatia, UN Women Deputy Executive Director stressed that bridging the gender gap is a prerequisite to helping communities withstand shocks linked to the pandemic and climate emergencies.

Bhatia said at a virtual forum organized by international health lobby groups that gender equality if prioritized by governments through the enactment of progressive laws and policies is the only pathway toward realizing a post-pandemic future that is green, resilient, and inclusive.

The attainment of Sustainable Development Goal 5 (SDG 5) on gender equality will have spin-off effects including equitable growth, durable peace and improved ecosystems and human health, said Bhatia.

She called on governments to come up with gender-sensitive policy interventions in their bid to tackle inflationary pressure linked to the pandemic, conflicts, and climate change.

Convened by the international health lobby group, Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), and partners, the virtual forum sought to raise women’s voices in the quest to tackle the emerging global health and ecological crisis.

Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chairperson and former New Zealand Prime Minister said that renewed commitment was key to ensuring that women and girls are fully involved in efforts to tackle a public health crisis linked to the pandemic.

According to Clark, transformative policies were required to ensure that women were an integral part of the international response to disease outbreaks, climatic shocks, conflicts, and economic volatility.

Diene Keita, Deputy Executive Director for Programs at UN Population Fund (UNFPA) said that governments had an obligation to knock down legislative and cultural barriers that prevented women from contributing to the socio-economic and ecological renewal of their native countries.

Keita in particular noted that progress toward gender parity had experienced bumps in the light of budget cuts on reproductive health programs tailor-made for women and girls coupled with right-wing politics and religious extremism.

She said universal access to basic education for girls, and access to contraceptives among women of childbearing age combined with law enforcement to curb gender-based violence has the potential to unleash equitable prosperity in developing countries.

Keita urged governments and lenders to support women-owned enterprises to tackle poverty and exclusion that has undermined the realization of UN 2030 goals.