daniel chigunwe
Latwell Nyangu
Herald Reporter
THE United Nations has called for stronger disaster preparedness measures and support for women in marginalised communities as Zimbabwe braces for the potential effects of an El Niño.
United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UN Women Deputy Executive Director Dr Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda paid a courtesy call on Women Affairs, Community, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Minister Senator Monica Mutsvangwa at her office yesterday.
Speaking on Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results, Dr Gumbonzvanda agreed that the effects of El Niño were likely to be more severe in marginalised communities, particularly those already facing food and water shortages.
Women often bore the greatest burden during humanitarian and climate-related shocks.
“So, the situation is going to be worse in communities that have always had challenges of food security.
“We are confronting a major El Niño, and we know it is the women who will be left to deal with the consequences of food shortages when vegetables become dry, and food becomes scarce.”
Dr Gumbonzvanda said UN Women and its partners within the UN system were reviewing ways of strengthening preparedness at both community and institutional levels.
While SADC was often associated with humanitarian response mechanisms, disaster preparedness should also be integrated into national and regional structures.
“UN Women, our teams, and ourselves are looking at how we can do preparedness as part of the UN system, so that women can be supported to prepare adequately for the looming disaster because we know it is coming,” she said.
Dr Gumbonzvanda also congratulated Zimbabwe on efforts to finalise the 2022–2026 Zimbabwe UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (ZUNSDCF), which serves as the main roadmap for UN support in the country.
The cooperation framework is designed to advance people-centred human development, climate resilience, economic transformation and inclusive governance.
She commended Government for scaling up the country’s national action plan on women, peace and security.
Dr Gumbonzvanda said Zimbabwe’s experience and involvement in the women, peace and security agenda, together with its role in negotiations for the Convention on Ending Violence against Women, positioned the country to lead implementation at national and international levels.
“We supported the negotiations as UN Women, and we are looking forward to Zimbabwe signing on the dotted line.
“Zimbabwe is just now finalising its signing of the Cooperation Framework between the United Nations and the Government of Zimbabwe.”
In response, Sen Mutsvangwa said the country remained committed to advancing gender equality and strengthening the institutions and legal frameworks required for effective implementation.
“We value UN Women as a strategic partner in translating this commitment into tangible results.
“We have continued to make progress in strengthening the policies, legal and institutional frameworks for gender equality,” she said.
Sen Mutsvangwa also highlighted the role of President Mnangagwa in the HeForShe initiative, which promotes gender equality and women’s empowerment.
She said Government was focused on ensuring sustainable financing and accountability mechanisms so that gender-equality efforts moved beyond policy commitments and resulted in measurable improvements.
“We also need to make sure that we put sustainable financing and accountability mechanisms to ensure that gender equality, which we are talking about, moves beyond just the policy, but into effective, reality-based implementation with measurable results,” she said.
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