State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shama Obaed Islam has called for predictable, accessible and cost-free financing for gender-responsive climate adaptation and resilience.
She made the call while speaking at an event titled “Policy to Practice: Strengthening Gender-responsive Climate Governance and Finance in Bangladesh” at the Bangladesh Pavilion in the Blue Zone of the UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya, Turkiye, on Thursday.
The event was jointly organised by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and UN Women Bangladesh. Shama attended the event as the chief guest.
The event highlighted Bangladesh’s experiences, emerging lessons, and implementation challenges, with particular attention to institutional capacity, inter-ministerial coordination, sectoral mainstreaming, and gender-responsive climate finance.
It also explored how development partners and international financial institutions could help strengthen the enabling environment and mobilise resources for country-led climate priorities.
In her remarks, the state minister emphasised that safety, mobility, and participation must be integrated into climate adaptation planning from the outset rather than treated as afterthoughts.
She stressed the need for initiatives such as cyclone shelters with separate facilities for women and improved access to reproductive and mental healthcare.
Shama also underscored that gender-responsive climate action should not be limited to one-off projects but must be embedded in the way resilience initiatives are planned, financed, implemented, and monitored.
"When women lead and participate fully, our communities become more resilient, and our future becomes more secure," she said.
