Context
In 2022, the President of Malawi launched the Women in Climate Action Network, demonstrating political commitment and emphasizing the need for women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in climate-related decision-making. This Network serves as a vehicle to channel women’s voices into national climate and environmental policies, addressing a current gap in representation. The Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare (MOGCDSW), a key implementing partner of Malawi’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), established a Network bureau at the national level and trained staff in climate leadership skills. However, the Network lacks formal structures at the district level to support sub-national implementation of climate policies where frontline impacts are most felt.
MOGCDSW is the mandated administrator of the Women in Climate Action Network and will include Network activities in the national budget allocation. It will also collaborate with the technical officers in the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services (in the Ministry of Natural Resources and Climate Change) to integrate gender programming in climate change efforts. Enhanced collaboration on planning, implementation, and supervision will occur between the two departments through designated focal points.
Goal of the technical assistance
The overall goal of this technical assistance is to strengthen the government’s capacity to address Malawi’s climate emergency while facilitating women’s meaningful participation and leadership in climate-related decision-making. Through the NDC Partnership, the government is receiving support to develop a strategy for the Women in Climate Action Network.
Climate Action Africa (CAA)’s technical assistance will help implement this strategy by creating and training a core of Network members who can:
- Serve as trainers/facilitators/climate leaders in their districts;
- Provide input for establishing district-level structures; and
- Support the implementation of strategy activities.
This assistance will help remove barriers women face in participating in decision-making and implementing climate change policy interventions.
Outline of the initiative
The deployment will deliver as follows:
- Conduct an Inception meeting (remote) to outline a work plan with MOGCDSW and Climate Action Africa and develop an inception report to guide the TA.
- Conduct a stakeholder consultation to provide an overview of the technical assistance and elicit inputs into the work plan.
- Conduct a rapid capacity needs assessment of women who are current/future members of the Women in Climate Action Network, as well as local level authorities, and other key stakeholders
- Review existing capacity development programmes/approaches/materials in Malawi (and elsewhere if needed) for strengthening women’s climate leadership capacity relevant for the Women in Climate Action Network.
- Develop, pilot, and assess training approach/materials and organize and deliver Training of Trainers on climate leadership for a core group of women who are current/future members of the Women in Climate Action Network.
- Organize and deliver a write shop for a group drawn from relevant government bodies mandated to implement the NDC, trained Women in Climate Action Network members, and National Gender and Climate Change Focal Point, etc., to prepare a draft concept note/proposal that identifies ways forward to leverage this technical assistance and scale out the capacity building and activities of the Women in Climate Action Network.
- Develop a short communications product (e.g., social media posts, blog, short video, newsletter, or podcast) on the technical assistance undertaken.
- Convene a (remote) closing meeting with MOGCDSW, CAA, and TE to discuss the deployment and prepare a comprehensive, clear, well-written closing report.
