The AfDB, the ECOWAS Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (ECREEE), and US-based National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) have formed a partnership centered on linking gender and energy access. The three entities organized an inception workshop to launch a project about developing an ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access and its Implementation Strategy. The workshop was held on Tuesday, February 24 at AfDB headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
The project is aimed at establishing a regional policy and its implementation strategy that will support the region’s energy efficiency and renewable energy policies.
The ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access, the first of its kind globally, aims at addressing barriers that hinder the participation of women in energy access. Solomon Asamoah, AfDB’s VP for Infrastructure, Private Sector and Regional Integration, acknowledged that “when we have energy and climate problems, it is usually women who suffer.” He emphasized that the policy must be “practical, effective and easy to follow.”
Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, AfDB’s Special Envoy on Gender, said there is a need to ensure that there is an improvement in access and affordability of energy, detailing how energy access must also be linked to trade and industry. In placing women at the core of the development agendas of AfDB and ECOWAS, she stressed that “if we want to make a difference, women must switch on the lights in Africa.”
The workshop resulted in the establishment of a Project Steering Committee to provide technical guidance and oversight throughout the design of the ECOWAS Policy for Gender Mainstreaming in Energy Access and its Implementation Strategy. It was agreed that spokespersons would be sought to heighten awareness on the significance of the project and its implications for the ECOWAS region. It was also agreed that AfDB’s Special Envoy on Gender and the ECOWAS Commissioner for Social Affairs and Gender would assume a joint advocacy role for the benefit of the project.