Kathmandu, December 28

Women rights activists have underscored the need of addressing women’s and minorities’ problems during natural calamities separately. They also urged stakeholders to be more sensitive towards their problems.

Speaking at an interaction, participants highlighted the need of addressing women’s and LGBTI’s issues through separate cluster approach, especially during the time of natural calamities like flood, earthquake and cold waves.

Cluster approach is followed by the United Nations and non-UN humanitarian partners to provide effective and targeted humanitarian response in emergency situations.

Currently, there are 11 such clusters that address the problems faced by the people at the time of disaster

effectively.

The clusters are health, logistics, nutrition, protection, shelter, water sanitation and hygiene, camp coordination and camp management, early recovery, education, emergency telecommunication and food security.

The programme was organised by Women Friendly Disaster Management Group and Media Advocacy Group supported by UN Women.

Speaking at the programme, Chadani Joshi, chairperson of WFDMG, talked about the importance of public awareness and the role of humanitarian agencies in addressing gender issues at the time of calamities.

“It is the locals who need to be taught about various gender related issues and also about the ways to deal with problems in emergency situations,” Joshi said.

Similarly, Sama Shrestha of UN Women said the humanitarian work now demands gender responsive action. “Till now the gender issues were handled through protection cluster but now we have felt the need to form a separate gender cluster.”

Similarly, speaking at the programme, Dorendra Prasad Niraula under secretary at Minister of Women, Children and Social Welfare said local levels had more authority to implement programmes that help to sort out problems at the local level.