MINSITRY INVOLVES GENGER CONCERNS IN ENERGY POLICIES (PAGE 11, DEC 19)

WITH the indiscriminate cutting of trees and apparent shortage of firewood, rural women now face the daunting task of searching for alternative sources of energy.
The Ministry of Energy has, therefore, stepped up efforts at considering gender concerns in the design and implementation of energy policies and projects under the ministry’s medium-term development strategy.
This includes widespread education to shift cultural practices to a more sustainable energy use so as to shift emphasis from the use of woodfuel, which is currently the preferred source of energy, particularly among the low-income rural householders.
Involving gender concerns in the design and implementation of energy policies and projects constitutes national efforts at advancing short and long-term solutions to the myriad of problems of millions women and children who suffer from poverty and diseases as a result of indoor air pollution.
The Energy Minister, Dr Joseph Oteng-Adjei, made this known in a speech read on his behalf at a national validation workshop on gender audit in Accra, during which a draft report on the ministry’s energy policy and programmes was discussed. The workshop, organised by the Ghana Regional Appropriate Technology Industrial Service (GRATIS) Foundation, in partnership with the Ministry of Energy, was sponsored by Energia Africa.
He said the government would continue to step up improved interventions to encourage kerosene improvement and Liquefied Petroleum Gas programmes aimed at reducing the burden and health hazards on rural women who formed the majority of users of firewood and charcoal as fuel, due to exposure to smoke.
The Regional Coordinator of Energia Africa, Ms Nozipho Wright, noted that about two billion people worldwide relied on inferior fuels for energy, and women and girls who were the managers of household energy were the worst affected as a result of insignificant inputs from policy makers to address their concerns.
She says the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that indoor air pollution, as a major health issue, is the cause of pneumonia, chronic respiratory disease and lung cancer, which are commonly found in women, are as a result of their engagement in more productive activities aimed at generating income to support agriculture, production and education.
She, therefore, called for collaborative efforts by the ministry and its allied bodies, as well as stakeholders in the sector to consider approaches that would enhance income-generating programmes for women.
The Gender and Development Co-ordinator at the GRATIS Foundation and Energia Country Focal Person, Mrs Sabina Anokye, expressed concern about the low representation of women on the board of the ministry and its allied agencies, pointing out that as Ghana geared itself for operation in the oil and gas industry, it was important for stakeholders to partner women and also ensure the utilisation of oil revenue to support priority areas such as education, rural development, water, sanitation, among other measures aimed at reducing poverty, in line with the Millennium Development Goals.
Among other things, the draft report recommends for a review of the country’s regional and international commitments under the United Nations and the African Union and identify sources of support and funding for gender mainstream.
It also calls for incorporation of gender mainstream responsibilities into job descriptions of staff at the Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Ministry of Energy, as an well as increase in women’s representation in decision-making positions on boards and committees, in line with the government’s promise of affirmative action.