UNOPS photo.

United Nations agencies – UNOPS and UN Women have launched a joint campaign in six African countries including South Sudan to remind policymakers and international partners to support gender-responsive infrastructures that can empower rural women in the continent.

The campaign was reportedly launched on the eve of International Rural Women’s Day and highlights the importance of investing in mechanisms that will enable women in rural areas to better contribute to food security and climate adaptation.

The agencies said the campaign will include joint activities in several African countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, and Zimbabwe, among others.

On October 13, UN Women Africa and UNOPS Africa hosted a live conversation, where stakeholders ―including a woman from an African rural area and a specialized journalist― highlighted the importance of addressing persistent gender gaps in the response to climate change and food insecurity.

In South Sudan, UNOPS, UN Women and the Ministry of Gender, Child and Social Welfare will be commemorating the International Rural Women’s Day on the 25th of October 2023 to underline the contribution of rural women to development in Africa.

The event will also discuss the importance of investing in infrastructural development that will allow women to have equal access to infrastructure as well as benefit from public expenditure, the agencies said in a joint press statement.

They say women have an increased role in decision-making processes in local development prioritization for an effective and sustainable contribution to food security and climate adaptation.

“Gender-blind infrastructure limits women’s access to financial resources, land, education, health, and other rights and opportunities,” said Dalila Gonçalves, UNOPS Director (ad interim) for Africa Region.

“Also, it limits their capacity for coping with and adapting to climate change impacts. Women can play an active role as change-makers and educators in embedding sustainability within different infrastructure sectors,” she further underscored.

“Supporting the empowerment of rural women through gender-responsive infrastructure, UNOPS helps low and middle-income countries across Africa in their journey toward the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.”

Maxime Houinato, UN Women Regional Director for East and Southern Africa and Regional Director a.i for West and Central Africa, also said rural African women’s pivotal role in bolstering regional economies and combating poverty is irrefutable.

“Yet, they grapple with pronounced challenges in securing vital agricultural resources, restricting their agricultural
productivity and impacting their adaptability to climate change,” he said.

According to Houinato, it is imperative “that we advance programmes and policies that increase financing for rural women’s access to labour and timesaving equipment. and services, fostering gender equality and improving rural women’s economic security.”

According to UN Women, women make up more than 50 percent of Africa’s population and 80 percent of them reside in rural areas.

The International Labour Organization states that giving women the same opportunities as men could raise agricultural production by 2.5 to 4 percent in the poorest regions and reduce the number of malnourished people by 12 to 17 percent.

The UNOPS Report, ‘Infrastructure for gender equality and the empowerment of women’, stated that in rural areas inadequate infrastructure services disproportionately affect women’s time use because they bear the burden of household tasks, like collecting water and firewood, cooking, cleaning, and providing childcare.

Women also face disadvantages when it comes to land and livestock ownership or equal pay which hamper their productivity and growth, resulting in weak rural economies, and impacting the local and global food systems and climate adaptation capacity.