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Islamabad: Goodwill Ambassador of Pakistan for Women Empowerment , Ms Fiza Batool Gilani attended a briefing on ‘Women in Emergency Situations’ in NDMA; SAPM Shehnaz Wazir Ali, Member DRR, Ahmed Kamal, NDMA Advisor on Gender and Child, Ms Nighat Siddique and other high ranking officials were also present on the occasion.
SAPM Shehnaz Wazir Ali presented ‘Women in Disaster: An overview’. She highly appreciated the role of GCC, NDMA in protecting rights of vulnerable sections of society and stressed the need to place focal persons in DDMAs to ensure provision of vital data regarding women and children.
The NDMA Advisor on Gender and Child, Ms Nighat Siddique informed the meeting that GCC, NDMA was constituted in August 2010 on permanent basis with a view to mainstream Gender and Child vulnerabilities in disaster situations.
She briefed the session that the disaster response mechanism must focus on women and children as in case of any future disaster 70% of women and children will be at risk and in the response plan we are striving to secure this 70% chunk of vulnerable population. She said that 2.6 million men, 2.8 million women and 3.5 million children have been affected at the hands of current floods.
She informed the meeting that in pursuit of Gender and Child protection NDMA is coordinating with various international agencies including UN-Women, CIDA, UNICEF, UNFPA, IOM, UN-HABITAT and SAVE THE CHILDREN under specific SOPs. She said that the NDMA coordinates with PDMA, DDMA and International Agencies to guide women and children in affectively responding.
The Advisor NDMA also elaborated on the social, physical and psychological constraints which women and children face in wake of disaster. She said that GCC, NDMA coordinators have been deputed in PDMA and they are providing vital feedback regarding the needs of women and children in the camps on daily basis. Ms Nighat Siddique said that GCC, NDMA aims to promote coherence in National, Provincial and District policies with regard to Gender and Child Protection.
Member DRR, Mr. Ahmed Kamal also gave briefing to the session. He thanked all the participants for attending the briefing. Ambassador of Pakistan for Women Empowerment, Ms Fiza Batool Gilani appreciated the role of NDMA in protecting the vulnerable groups in emergency situation.
For more information, contact:
Ahmed Kamal
Spokesperson
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)
Tel: +9251 9215412
Cell: +92300 5278981 and +92331-5657779
Email: maf@ndma.gov.pk