Call for Comments on the Draft of Update to the Gender Policy of the Adaptation Fund

The Adaptation Fund is launching a public call for comments on the draft of update to the Gender Policy of the Adaptation Fund.

The draft of updated Gender Policy is available here. Please send any comments by 17 February 2020 via the contact form or by emailing the Adaptation Fund Board secretariat at afbsec@adaptation-fund.org.

A final updated Gender Policy will be developed with input gathered through public call for comments and will be considered along with an action plan at the next meeting in March 2020.

The Adaptation Fund (the Fund), which serves the Paris Agreement since 1 January 2019, contributes to an implied theory of change derived from the Paris Agreement and SDG 13, as elaborated in the Fund’s Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) for the 2018-2022 period, by addressing the urgent and immediate adaptation needs in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and by committing to a gender mainstreaming approach in doing so.

The Adaptation Fund’s Gender Policy (GP) and Gender Action Plan (GAP) (2017-2019) were approved in March 2016 (Decision B.27/28). The Fund’s Gender Policy systematically integrates key principles elaborated in the Fund’s own environmental and social Policy (ESP), especially the principles on access and equity, on consideration of marginalized and vulnerable groups and of human rights.  It highlights the principle of gender equality and women’s empowerment as the goal that the Fund strives to attain through its processes.

In line with the GP’s principle of ‘review and revisions’, the Fund launched the process for review of the implementation of the GP and GAP and the update of GP and GAP.  While focusing successes and good practices, as well as ongoing challenges or gap areas, the review of implementation of GP and GAP process started in May 2019 with the aim to draw concrete recommendations on how the AF and its partners can collaboratively improve in their efforts to comprehensively consider and support ‘gender equality and women’s empowerment’ in all of the Fund’s operations. The outcome of the review was presented to the Board as information document AFB/B.34/Inf.9, and this assessment report formed the basis for the update of the GP and GAP.

Through updated GP, the Fund aims to step up its efforts, not only in further addressing gender mainstreaming challenging confronting the Fund and its partners, but also in promoting the effectiveness, efficiency and sustainability of the adaptation intervention which integrates gender consideration.

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