By Chidiebere Onyemaizu
A nonprofit Organisation, Aiding Lives Initiative for the Vulnerable, ALIVE has underscored the danger of environmental degradation. The organisation which is committed to empowering vulnerable women and children by promoting health, well-being, environmental resilience and enabling them to lead safe and fulfilling lives. The group said its advocacy targets Lagos’ coastal and other communities vulnerable to environmental hazards.
ALIVE has been at the forefront of community interventions in Lagos’ vulnerable communities; delivering programs that address maternal and child health, environmental health, environmental justice, and community resilience.
ALIVE has also conducted gender-disaggregated vulnerability assessments, knowledge building on climate resilience sustenance, and environmental clean-up drives across coastal communities.
At the recent Stakeholder Interface Meeting on Developing a Gender-Sensitive Climate Action Policy in Lagos themed “Amplifying Women’s Voices in Lagos State Climate Action Policy,” ALIVE reiterated its pro-environment agenda. The meeting provided a platform for women from flood-prone communities namely Makoko, Ago-Egun, and Badia areas of Lagos, to directly engage policymakers and share their lived experiences of climate impact.
The meetimg was graced by representatives from the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Chairmen and Directors of Environmental services of Bariga LCDA and Apapa-Iganmu LCDA were represented. Also in attendance were Community Development leaders and 100 women from Coastal communities.
Speaking, Pandora Umechukwu, ALIVE’s Executive Director, said: “We have gathered a diverse group of stakeholders to share knowledge, review findings, and begin the collaborative process of developing a Gender-Sensitive Climate Action Policy for Lagos State. A policy that acknowledges the differential impact of climate change on women and children, their experiences, knowledge, and leadership in crafting lasting solutions.
“We are here to amplify the voices of these coastal communities who are living through the harshest impacts of ocean surge and environmental degradation, they endure the brunt of the climate crisis without adequate representation in policy dialogue”
High point of the meeting was the presentation of a Gender Analysis of the Lagos State Climate Action Plan (2020–2025). The analysis, led by ALIVE and eco-activist collaborators, revealed key gaps in the policy’s engagement with women, including absence of gender-disaggregated data, limited inclusion of women in planning and implementation, lack of funding for gender-focused climate adaptation, gender mainstreaming mentioned, but without clear strategies or funding, and unaddressed gender specific impacts on women.
According to stakeholders, Gender Analysis of the Lagos State Climate Action Plan became necessary given that women and children in coastal communities bear the greatest burden of climate impacts. Essentially, women do not have access to clean energy, mobility, and flood protection. In most third world cities, Lagos inclusive, transport, housing, and energy policies fail to address women’s unique needs. Informal women-led businesses are often displaced without support. The current Climate Action Plan does not include specific gender-responsive measures.Notedly, ALIVE aims to elevate community voices and propose transformative, inclusive policy changes.
According to Umechukwu, in most coastal communities, ocean surges and environmental degradation have deeply disrupted life for women and children, especially in Lagos’ coastal communities. The impacts of these include frequent flooding during the rainy season, loss of livelihoods, contaminated drinking water, poor health outcomes, displacement, missed school days, and many more.
“The water often infiltrates their homes, leaving them submerged for days, destroying property and compromising hygiene and safety. Women are most affected by flooding and ocean surges, but are least involved in the solutions.”
“This meeting is about changing that narrative—by ensuring that women’s voices shape Lagos’ future climate response. Women face gender-specific vulnerabilities due to their dual roles as caregivers and income earners. During floods, they are responsible for ensuring the safety of children, sourcing food, managing water collection, and navigating destroyed sanitation systems, all while often losing their primary means of livelihood.”
“Unlike men, they are rarely included in decision-making processes, which limits their access to critical information and resources. The burden of displacement falls heavily on them as they are tasked with finding alternative shelter and maintaining household cohesion amid chaos”
The interface also featured a health talk by a female Medical Doctor who highlighted the health risks of flooding on women and children. She encouraged stronger preventative practices and applauded the resilience of the community women.
The Lagos Ministry of Environment and Water Resources was full of praise for ALIVE for the work it has done so far, acknowledging the clean-up efforts, climate resilience trainings, and grassroots policy analysis as “commendable and necessary steps toward inclusive environmental governance”
The interface meeting ended with calls to action, including develop inclusive climate action plans that incorporate coastal community voices, lived experiences, and priorities, ensuring communities are actively engaged and consulted at every stage before, during, and after the planning process, design adaptive solutions that reflect the specific challenges coastal communities face during flood seasons, promoting equity and effectiveness in climate response strategies, provide dedicated funding for community-led clean-up and climate resilience initiatives, including resources for tools, safe waste disposal, and public awareness, support for localized resilience programs that empower women to prepare for, respond to, and recover from environmental disasters in ways that align with their specific needs and realities, promote women’s leadership in climate response and planning by ensuring their representation in decision-making roles, invest in training programs that equip women to serve as local climate leaders, trainers, and community mobilizers, strengthening their capacity to drive change and build resilience within their communities, allocate dedicated funding within climate programs to address the specific needs and priorities of coastal communities, collect and utilize gender-disaggregated data to understand the unique impacts of flooding on women, and use this evidence to inform planning and implementation, ensure women’s active participation in monitoring, evaluation, and accountability processes to track the effectiveness of climate interventions.
Officials and stakeholders present expressed commitment to deeper engagement with communities and recognized the importance of including women in building a climate-resilient state.
