US President Joe Binen unveiled a plan to spend Ksh208 million ($1.5 million) to empower women in Kenya fighting climate change.
The funds, according to a report by the Washington Free Beacon, a US media outlet on May 31, will be used to equip women in Kenya who are climate change activists.
The report added that the funds will be disbursed through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and had already been launched on May 22.
Further, the report noted that USAID would especially focus on women living in the northern part of Kenya because many of them were living in traditionally patriarchal communities.
“The women live in traditionally patriarchal communities and lack the ability to lead Kenya’s fight against climate change.
“As such, the agency is putting big money behind a program that will empower women, improve their participation in decision-making, and enhance adaptive capabilities to climate change,” the report noted.
In addition to the Northern Kenya grant, USAID had since set aside millions of dollars to inspire and support overseas climate activists.
According to the USAID empowerment goals, women are vital in economic growth because they re-invest in their families and communities.
USAID's Women’s Economic Empowerment (WEE) Initiative seeks to reach 50 million women in the developing world by 2025 through U.S. Government activities, private-public partnerships, and an innovative fund.
"When women are economically empowered, they re-invest in their families and communities, producing a multiplier effect that spurs economic growth and contributes to global peace and stability," USAID WEE stated.
USAID on May 22, reiterated its commitment to ensuring its support to Kenyan women noting that many of them were underrepresented in the decision-making process at all levels.
"Girls and women in Kenya hold unlimited potential. The barriers that particularly constrain women and girls are multifaceted," USAID stated.
The agency noted that the women in the northern parts of Kenya spent long hours collecting water and firewood and had less access and control over the benefits from land tenure.
Further, Washington Free Beacon noted that the efforts by the agency had earlier received criticism from congressional Republicans in the United States who argued that the spending was a waste of taxpayer funds.
The report added that some argued that the funds ought to "be supporting Americans, not overseas climate activists."
