Strengthening Investments in Gender Responsive Climate Adaptation

The strengthening Investments in Gender Responsive Climate Adaptation (SIGRA) initiative seeks to advance climate action food security and inclusive governance in Ghana. This project aims to improve the resilience of Ghanaian citizens particularly women girls and vulnerable groups through investing in inclusive and gender-responsive climate adaptation initiatives. The project seeks to strengthen the enabling environment at the national and local levels while supporting women’s voices and involvement in policy decisions concerning climate change adaptation. Specifically the project provides technical assistance and support to strengthen governance and national systems with key central level Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDA) while providing direct grants to five Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) funding local gender-responsive climate adaptation projects. The initiative further supports regional government stakeholders in the Northern and Volta regions. It strengthens the ability of targeted MMDAs to plan implement and report on climate adaptation initiatives. The project also strengthens women-led civil society organizations’ (CSOs) participation voice and influence in government decision-making. Project activities include: (1) supporting Ghanaian ministries and agencies with technical assistance on gender-responsive budgeting and climate adaptation; (2) providing technical assistance to MMDAs on climate risk assessments and formulating gender-responsive climate adaptation initiatives; (3) providing funds to MMDAs for gender-responsive climate adaptation plans; (4) supporting women-led CSOs to conduct outreach awareness raising and advocacy on gender equality and climate adaptation at the MMDA and national levels; and (5) supporting organizational development of regional structures of the Ministry of Local Government Decentralization and Rural Development Environmental Protection Agency and the Ministry of Gender Chi

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved accessibility to climate finance and implementation of an inclusive and gender-responsive National Adaptation Plan (NAP) by the government of Ghana; (2) increased effectiveness of MMDAs in the Northern and Volta regions in planning and executing inclusive and gender-responsive food security and climate adaptation projects; and (3) enhanced influence of women girls and vulnerable groups on government spending priorities especially in inclusive and gender-responsive investments in climate-smart agriculture and climate adaptation