KATHMANDU, Nov 30: The three-day South Asia Peer Learning Regional consultation meeting concluded on Wednesday with unanimous agreement on the critical need to engage women's groups in decision-making to effectively design, implement and monitor gender-responsive disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies and programs.

The meeting also came up with country-specific action points on gender responsive disaster preparedness and response.

The consultation was organized jointly by the Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare (MoWCSW) and the UN Women in collaboration with women's groups.

Secretary of Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, Bishnu Prasad Lamsal while addressing the meeting said that the government has initiated discussion on localizing the Sendai Framework for Action to create a space for mainstreaming gender equality and women's empowerment concerns in the national DRR program. He further added that the government is committed to implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.  

Speaking on the occasion, Wenny Kusuma, Representative of UN Women Nepal said, “This regional consultation is an important step to ensure that women's leadership, voice and agency remain at the forefront of actions to reduce and respond to disaster risks, and that women are recognized as agents of change in future disaster risk reduction actions.” She added that now is the time to translate the commitments made by the government into action. 

 
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• women
 
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