Soroptimist International UN Representative Dr Alice Odingo
has been attending the latest high level UN forum on disaster management in
Abuja, Nigeria to underline the urgent and growing need to reduce the
devastating and disproportionate impact of disasters on women and children
worldwide particularly as these catastrophic events are occurring more often.

Women and children not only suffer higher mortality and
injury rates than men during and after disasters but the incidence of gender
based violence and exploitation is also known to increase exponentially. This
has been directly linked not only to gender discrimination but also to women’s
disadvantaged economic status  within many societies.

Raising awareness at the Abuja gathering is Dr Alice Odingo, who is one of two Soroptimist International representatives at United Nations
Environment (UNEP) programme in Nairobi.

"Lack of economic and social rights contribute to
disproportionate losses of lives among women than men during disasters such as
droughts, floods, mudslides/landslides, tsunamis and other hazards”, explains
Alice, a specialist in climate change and environmental issues affecting women.

 “The situation is worsened by inadequate
representation of women in decision-making processes at the household,
community and policy levels, thus limiting their contribution of indigenous
information, useful in disaster risk reduction."

Dr Odingo is also a Global Co-ordinator
of the Women’s Major Group at UNEP and has recently been appointed to the Board
of Directors of the Association of Women in Development,  A senior
lecturer in the Geography Department of Nairobi University, Dr Odingo played an
active role representing SI in submissions for Rio+20.

Despite their vulnerable position, women are not merely
victims but valuable sources of knowledge for preparing and mitigating against
the risk of natural disasters. Their experience as caregivers along with their
networking skills within local communities also makes them uniquely effective
for organising relief efforts.

As the 700 delegates, including government ministers and
stakeholders from all over Africa  finalise their key regional
recommendations for a new global disaster management agreement, Soroptimist
International is lobbying for women to be at the forefront of future disaster
planning and responses to ensure a safer and more resilient future for all.

READ MORE on Dr Odingo’s action plan for Soroptimists to
help women and girls build resilience to disasters in her SoroptiVoice blog on
30th May.

Image: Dr Alice Odingo (left) and Rose Mwangi, SI UN
Representatives in Nairobi

Further information:

The 5th Africa Regional Platform for Disaster Risk
Reduction ,Abuja, Nigeria, 13-16 May 2014 

Soroptimist International of the Americas white paper on how women are
impacted when disaster strikes

May 2014 OECD report on the scale of preparations required
for disaster risk reduction worldwide.