UN Women and the National Council on Climate Change (NCCC) have officially launched Nigeria’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) Gender Integration Toolkit and Strategy, a landmark initiative aimed at enhancing gender equality in national climate governance and policymaking.
Speaking at the launch in Abuja, Ms. Beatrice Eyong, UN Women Country Representative to Nigeria and ECOWAS, described the initiative as a significant milestone toward inclusive and equitable climate action.
“This is more than the unveiling of a technical resource—it is a reaffirmation of our commitment to inclusive, equitable, and effective climate action for all Nigerians,” said Eyong.
She emphasized that gender equality must not be treated as an add-on but as a critical driver of climate resilience, innovation, and sustainable national development across all sectors.
“We cannot achieve our climate targets without placing women at the centre of climate action, decision-making, and policy implementation,” she added.
Eyong announced that sectoral training sessions would be conducted to build the capacity of federal and state-level actors, enabling them to effectively apply the toolkit within their respective areas of climate responsibility. She also revealed the development of a Trainer-of-Trainers (ToT) model and a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework to support toolkit implementation in both digital and print formats nationwide.
“With strong political will and collaboration, Nigeria can lead Africa in demonstrating that climate action and gender equality are two sides of the same coin,” Eyong stated.
Also speaking at the event, the Director-General of the NCCC, Dr. Salisu Dahiru, highlighted the centrality of gender integration in building national climate resilience, noting that women and children bear the brunt of climate change impacts.
“The launch of this toolkit represents a critical shift—from commitment to institutionalisation. We must move beyond promises to real, measurable, gender-responsive climate actions across all sectors,” he said.
Mrs. Grace Obi-Ukpabi, Director of Social Development at the Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, expressed optimism that the initiative would strengthen national planning processes and promote gender-responsive budgeting within climate programmes.
“Sectoral training workshops are scheduled from October 7 to 17, aimed at equipping government actors at all levels with the knowledge and tools to implement gender-focused climate initiatives effectively,” she said.
She further explained that the toolkit includes eight sector-specific guides, as well as a cross-sectoral Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) and Climate Finance Toolkit to support results-based tracking and funding strategies.
“It will provide Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) with practical tools to translate gender and climate commitments into measurable actions across sectors such as energy, agriculture, water, transport, health, and more,” Obi-Ukpabi added.
