Women-centered climate and disaster response

On July 15, Hanoi hosted a conference organized by the Central Viet Nam Women's Union (VWU) in collaboration with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) to summarize the project "Promoting Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment through Climate Change Response and Disaster Risk Reduction".

Affirming women's role in climate change response

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Dung, Standing Deputy Head of the Women's Affairs Department at the Central VWU and Deputy Project Director, stated that amid increasingly complex climate change and more frequent and intense natural disasters, women and girls are heavily impacted due to their limitations in economic conditions, access to information, resources, and opportunities to participate in decision-making processes.

However, reality also shows that women are a crucial force in disaster prevention, response, and recovery, helping build safer, more resilient communities.

Stemming from that reality, the project "Promoting Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment through Climate Change Response and Disaster Risk Reduction," funded by UN Women in Viet Nam, was implemented by the Central VWU from April 2025 to July 2026 in localities visibly impacted by natural disasters and climate change, including: Quang Binh (now Quang Tri province), Hau Giang (now Can Tho city), Da Nang (including the former Quang Nam province), and Lao Cai (including the former Yen Bai province).

"With a women-centered approach, considering women not merely as beneficiaries but as active subjects participating in disaster prevention, climate change adaptation, and sustainable livelihood development, the project has contributed to concretizing the role of the VWU in implementing national priorities on gender equality, disaster prevention, climate change adaptation, and sustainable development", Ms. Dung affirmed.

One of the project's outstanding results is the development and launch of the "Guidebook on Disaster Prevention and Climate Change Adaptation Skills with Gender Mainstreaming".

The material was meticulously compiled by the Viet Nam Women's Union in collaboration with experts in gender, climate change, communication, and livelihoods. Following testing, feedback collection, and refinement, the toolkit consists of five practical products for Union officials and members, including: a practical instruction manual, an action handbook, a visual picture set, a group activity guide, and monitoring and evaluation forms.

Besides capacity building, the project also aims to strengthen women's roles in the process of participating in the formulation and implementation of policies related to disaster prevention and climate change adaptation.

Replicating the achieved results

Highly appreciating the project's results, Ms. Caroline Nyamayemombe, UN Women Representative in Viet Nam, affirmed that the project contributes to achieving the goal outlined in Resolution No. 68-NQ/TW, aiming to build 2 million enterprises and contribute 55-58% of GDP by 2030.

The project also contributes to realizing the goals of Decision No. 2415/QD-TTg on supporting women starting businesses in the 2026-2035 period, which targets that by 2030, women will own 30% of women-led enterprises and cooperatives, increasing to 35% by 2035.

According to Ms. Caroline Nyamayemombe, the project closes at a strategically significant moment as Viet Nam is implementing the Resolution of the 14th National Women's Congress (term 2026-2031). This serves as the foundation for maintaining and scaling up the models initiated by the project.

UN Women commits to continuing to accompany the VWU in the next phase. "We need longer-term and more flexible cooperation programs, focusing on digital and green transitions, with the capacity to scale up even further. Together, we will translate the breakthrough orientations in the Resolution of the 14th National Women's Congress as well as other important resolutions of the Party and Government of Viet Nam into concrete practical results", Ms. Caroline Nyamayemombe affirmed.