Stakeholders urged to strengthen collaboration to ensure the well-being of all families
By Dumisani Ndlovu
Gweru District Development Coordinator (DDC), Tarisai Mudadigwa, has urged stakeholders to enhancing the collaborative efforts and frameworks to ensure communities combat climate change and improve well-being of all families.
He was speaking at the District International Families Day Commemoration held on Wednesday at Romac Farm in Chiundura. The event was running under the theme: Families and Climate Change.
“The 2024 theme of the International Families Day seeks to direct focus on the role that families play in climate action and capacitate them with the knowledge and resources necessary to combat climate change. Families need to be incorporated in the broader climate response framework and deliver as change agents,” said Mudadigwa.
The DDC said with the above in mind it is imperative for all stakeholders in the national climate change response framework to work together and mainstream family focused solutions and interventions that speak to the needs of men, women, children and families.
“The capacitation of the existing community governance structures is essential to enabling them to disseminate information on climate change, disaster risk management and environmental protection and create tailor made response systems to help families and communities to respond to climate change challenges,” he said.
Mudadigwa said the provision of reliable energy of families need to be prioritised so as to reduce the rates of deforestation and biomass loss that will reduce the amount of productive land that families and community can use to development Sustainable Agriculture and land-based livelihoods.
“This will also aid in increasing economic resilience of families and reduce the likelihood of negative incidences such as gender-based violence, child marriage and drug abuse,” DDC Mudadigwa said.
The Gweru administrator showered praise to Women In land in Zimbabwe,Legal Resources Foundation, Environmental Management Agency (EMA), Forestry Commission and Musasa Project and Ministry of Women Affairs organising a colourful event.