Egypt's NCW president displays measures taken to integrate women in climate action

CAIRO – 14 November 2022: President of Egypt's National Council for Women (NWC) Maya Morsy delivered Monday the opening speech of COP 27 Gender Thematic Day at Sharm El Sheikh highlighting the country's initiatives on women and environment locally and internationally.

"The focus of the day is the role of women in the decision-making process pertaining to climate action and finance, the nexus between COVID19- Climate crisis and women’s empowerment, and women realities in light of adaptation, mitigation, and just environmental transition efforts," the NWC president explained.

Underscoring the negative impact of climate change on women, Morsi stipulated that the phenomenon is not gender neutral as women are more harmed than men in five areas that are agricultural production; food security; health; water and energy; and, climate-related disasters, migration, and conflict.

"Women are not helpless victims of climate change. They are powerful agents of change…But, if the impact of climate change on women goes unaddressed, globally, we will find the gender equality and Women’s Empowerment 2030 agenda going backwards to where it was in 2010," the NCW president warned.

In that realm, she presented the initiatives and programmes undertaken by Egypt to empower women, starting with Hayah Karima (Decent Life initiative), which is targeted at 58 million citizens in rural areas, showcasing that it has at the center the enhancement of the socio-economic conditions of women.

With regard to healthcare in specific, Maya Morsi stated that the Egyptian Women's Health Initiative had reached more than 23 million female beneficiaries.

Other initiatives inclusive of women are The National Egyptian Family Development Programme, aiming for the improvement of demographic characteristics and quality of life of families in more than 20 governorates, allowing for more resilient communities on the local level in Egypt.

In addition, women made 1,000 submissions to the National Initiative for Green Smart Projects. In a similar context, Egypt has launched “Noura,” which is a framework for investing in young girls.