"Advocacy Interaction with Local Government Based on the Identified Issues of Women with Disabilities on Disaster Resilience Activities"

6 October 2024, Salyan

Access Planet Organization, in partnership with Women's Fund Asia, conducted an interaction in Darma Rural Municipality, Salyan, on “Interaction with Local Government Based on the Identified Issues regarding Disability-Inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction” with the participation of local representatives, employees, and women with disabilities. The interaction program was attended by the presence of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson, and Chief Administrative Officer of the rural municipality along with women with disabilities. Gargi Nepal, the Chairperson of Access Planet Organization, moderated the program.

Objectives:

The main objectives of the interaction are as follows:

• To facilitate communication between women with disabilities and the rural municipality.
• To make the rural municipality aware of the situation of women with disabilities.
• To advocate to hold the local government accountable for disability inclusion in all efforts on the disaster preparedness and management.

During the program, Access Planet Organization briefed the rural municipality about the situation and issues faced by women with disabilities, emphasizing the need to make local-level policies and decision-making processes on disasters more disability-friendly.

Representatives from Darma Rural Municipality expressed their commitment to developing disability-friendly infrastructure and ensuring the inclusion of all types of persons with disabilities in policy-making processes.

Outcomes:

• The local representatives were sensitized on key challenges and gaps being specific to disaster risk reduction mechanisms at the local level.
• The coordination between the local government and women with disabilities was strengthened.
• Commitments were gathered from the local representatives to build disability-friendly infrastructure.