A2D Project receives grant from Canada Fund for Local Initiatives; trailblazes in implementing Gender-responsive budgeting for DRM/CCA

The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives awards an 8-month grant to A2D Project to implement an initiative entitled “Women Action for Community Resilience through Promoting Gender-responsive Budgeting for DRM/CCA” (WOMENACT4DRM/CCA). This pioneering work aims to build capacities of selected at-risk coastal communities for gender-responsive budgeting in disaster risk management and climate change adaptation planning and programming.

According to the Disaster Risk Reduction and Gender Consultant of A2D Project, Kaira Zoe Alburo-Canete, “while community-based disaster risk management has gained popularity in the Philippines, gender has remained a marginal consideration in DRM planning and strategizing.” Cañete further points out that while it has long been recognized that consulting with women often and continuously is essential in crafting effective development and disaster prevention initiatives, women’s contributions to risk reduction have been easily undermined due to their lack of meaningful participation in DRM processes. “Gender-responsive budgeting is an effective tool through which gender-aware climate change and disaster risk reduction measures can be put in place. This project is unique as gender-responsive budgeting has not yet been fully explored or applied as a method specifically to facilitate efforts in building community resilience to disasters” Cañete added.

One of the main results of the project is the development of a toolkit on community-based gender-responsive budgeting for DRM/CCA programming. This toolkit will be made available to local governments and government agencies, civil society organizations, and people’s associations in order to promote gender inclusion in local disaster risk reduction programs.

As pilot areas, the WOMENACT4DRM/CCA Project will be rolled out in barangays Guintaboan and Cuya in the Municipality of Ubay, Bohol.