A US$5 million grant from the Government of Japan to Guyana and Dominica, aimed at strengthening the disaster management capacities of women and indigenous people, was signed between the Ministry of Finance and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) yesterday.
The grant, Minister of Finance Winston Jordan said at a signing ceremony held in the Ministry of Finance’s boardroom, will provide funding for the “Project for Strengthening Disaster Management of Women in the Cooperative Republic of Guyana and the Commonwealth of Dominica.”
The three-year project, to be administered by the UNDP, is meant to build the capacity of poor farmers so that they can withstand the effects of climate change.
The grant is intended to provide funding for the support of vulnerable communities in Guyana and Dominica, Counsellor Yoshinori Yakabe, Deputy Head of the Mission of the Embassy of Japan, said yesterday in his remarks.
The project targets women and indigenous peoples, which are both communities that are reliant on agriculture. Yakabe explained that the aim is to develop the resilience of these groups to disaster and climate risk, in order to build sustainable livelihoods in hazard-prone communities.
“As this project will specifically focus on addressing vulnerabilities of women and indigenous people, who experience disproportionate impacts of hazard events, it will positively enhance the ability of the two nations to address climate risk due to an improved understanding of the important role these groups can play in disaster preparedness and recovery,” Yakabe stated.
“…In light of the ever-increasing extreme weather events resulting from climate change, the Government of Japan is committed to supporting developing countries, such as the Republic of Guyana and the Commonwealth of Dominica, in enhancing their resilience to disaster and climate risk. These countries are constantly affected by hurricanes, flooding, and droughts, which negatively affect their primary industry, agriculture. Due to the importance of the agriculture sector to national development, food and nutrition security, poverty reduction and livelihood opportunities, it is imperative that these nations are equipped with knowledge to ensure the security of their primary sector…,” Yakabe advised.
Minister Jordan stated that the grant will be used to “assist in building the capacities of women in Guyana and Dominica to influence and shape the trajectory of their lives and the lives of their families, in the face of frequent and recurring climate-related disasters.”
