March 21, 2022 DJIBOUTI, Djibouti): IGAD Secretariat Gender Affairs Department through the support of IDDRSI (SCII) convened a Country Level Consultative Forum on Gender and Resilience on 14th to 16th of March in Nairobi, Kenya.
The primary objective of the forum was to synergize working relations and accountability mechanisms on gender and resilience, in the scope of the IGAD Drought Disaster Resilience and Sustainability Initiative (IDDRSI) framework at national and subnational levels.
The forum successfully adopted a Terms of Reference (TOR) for establishment of a National level Gender and Resilience Working Group (NGRWG) to strengthen the coordination mechanism and for guiding the Member States’ national level work.
The forum also provided the representatives of IGAD Member States a platform to jointly explore challenges experienced in mainstreaming gender in resilience across the region, share experiences, best practice and give recommendations on gender responsive mechanisms to improve mainstreaming.
Gendered viewpoint to natural resources was recognized as a major challenge and acknowledged with a solution-oriented approach in the discussions of the forum. The forum reinforced the urgency and importance of implementing gender-responsive policies across IDDRSI’s primary intervention areas.
Participants of the meeting included staff and experts from relevant Ministries in all Member States as well as the IGAD Secretariat and external specialists.
The forum was convened in spirit of cooperation and joint effort to addressing national and cross-border challenges and issues related to mainstreaming gender across resilience activities. During the meeting experts joined forces in defining key terms for their successful implementation, shared perspectives and best practices.
