Plateforme AGGRC

Sierra Leone : Activer les fonds, financer la résilience des femmes

Thierry — 2025-09-15T12:08:46Z

Le rapport d'analyse de genre pour la Sierra Leone met en lumière une situation pleine de promesses mais inachevée. Le pays s'est doté d'un arsenal juridique et politique progressiste, comme la loi sur l'égalité des genres et l'autonomisation des femmes (GEWE Act), et a prévu des mécanismes de financement pour les crises. Pourtant, le financement de la gestion des risques de catastrophes (GRC) et des urgences de santé publique reste « relativement faible et au mieux ponctuel », dépendant largement des partenaires externes. Ce décalage entre la loi et la pratique laisse les femmes, actrices économiques clés du secteur informel, particulièrement exposées. En s'appuyant sur les cadres existants et les réussites identifiées dans le rapport, cet article propose une architecture de financement visant à activer ces mécanismes dormants pour faire de l'autonomisation des femmes le pilier de la résilience nationale.

Le Diagnostic : Des cadres en place, des capitaux absents
L'analyse économique révèle un paradoxe. Sur le plan macroéconomique, la Sierra Leone a posé les jalons d'une gestion financière souveraine des crises. La Loi sur la Gestion des Catastrophes de 2020 et la Loi sur la Santé Publique de 2022 prévoient respectivement la création d'un Fonds de Gestion des Catastrophes et d'un Fonds Fiduciaire d'Urgence pour la Santé Publique. De plus, un engagement gouvernemental existe pour sanctuariser jusqu'à 10 millions de dollars pour ce dernier. Cependant, le rapport est clair : le Fonds de Gestion des Catastrophes n'est pas encore établi et, en pratique, il n'y a aucune preuve de budgétisation sensible au genre dans ces secteurs.

Au niveau microéconomique, les conséquences de ce sous-financement sont directes. Les femmes, qui dominent le secteur informel en tant que petites commerçantes et agricultrices, voient leurs moyens de subsistance anéantis par les catastrophes et les mesures de confinement. Le rapport souligne que les inondations peuvent ruiner complètement leurs entreprises, les laissant sans capital pour redémarrer ou même rembourser leurs prêts. Malgré cette vulnérabilité, des mécanismes efficaces ont vu le jour, notamment le Programme d'Urgence de Transfert Monétaire durant la COVID-19, qui a bénéficié à 65% de ménages dirigés par des femmes.

La solution : Une architecture de financement à activer
La stratégie pour la Sierra Leone ne consiste pas à créer de nouveaux outils, mais à rendre opérationnels ceux qui existent déjà légalement, en les articulant à trois niveaux.

À l'échelle macroéconomique : Opérationnaliser les fonds souverains
La priorité absolue est d'exécuter la loi. Le gouvernement doit établir et rendre opérationnel le Fonds de Gestion des Catastrophes, comme le prévoit la loi de 2020. En parallèle, il doit concrétiser son engagement de 10 millions de dollars pour le Fonds d'Urgence de Santé Publique. Ces fonds souverains sont la clé pour réduire la dépendance et permettre une réponse rapide et planifiée.

Pour s'assurer que ces fonds bénéficient équitablement à tous, leur gestion doit être encadrée par une budgétisation sensible au genre, une initiative que le gouvernement déploie progressivement. Comme le recommande le rapport, le déploiement effectif de la BSG dans les secteurs de la santé et de la GRC est essentiel. Cela passera par le renforcement des unités Genre au sein des agences concernées, tel que mandaté par la loi GEWE.

À l'échelle mésoéconomique : Utiliser NaCSA comme levier institutionnel
Le rapport identifie un levier institutionnel déjà éprouvé : la Commission Nationale pour l'Action Sociale (NaCSA), qui a géré avec succès le programme de transferts monétaires d'urgence. La NaCSA, avec son expérience dans le ciblage des ménages vulnérables et sa portée nationale, est l'institution idéale pour servir de principal mécanisme de mise en œuvre pour les nouveaux fonds nationaux. En institutionnalisant le modèle de transferts monétaires via la NaCSA, l'État peut s'assurer que les fonds alloués au niveau macroéconomique atteignent rapidement et efficacement les populations affectées, avec un ciblage prouvé en faveur des femmes.

À l'échelle microéconomique : Injecter un capital de relance pour les femmes
Pour répondre directement à la destruction des moyens de subsistance des femmes, les fonds doivent financer des programmes de relèvement économique. S'inspirant de mesures passées comme le moratoire de trois mois sur le remboursement des microcrédits, la NaCSA pourrait déployer un programme de "Capital de Relance pour les Femmes".

Il s'agirait de transferts monétaires non pas seulement pour la survie, mais spécifiquement pour la recapitalisation des petites entreprises et des activités agricoles des femmes. Ce programme de "cash-plus" pourrait inclure une composante de formation en gestion simple, donnant aux femmes les moyens non seulement de reconstruire, mais de "mieux reconstruire" de manière plus résiliente.

Conclusion : De la loi à l'action
La Sierra Leone a déjà accompli le plus difficile : construire un consensus politique et un cadre légal pour l'égalité des genres et la gestion des crises. Le défi n'est plus conceptuel, mais opérationnel. En activant les fonds prévus par la loi, en les dotant de règles de budgétisation sensible au genre, et en s'appuyant sur l'efficacité prouvée de la NaCSA pour atteindre les femmes, le pays peut combler le fossé entre ses ambitions et la réalité. L'enjeu est de transformer des lois progressistes en capital tangible entre les mains des femmes, qui sont les véritables architectes de la résilience communautaire.

Community Views on Gender, Disease Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Natural Disasters in Sierra Leone

Thierry — 2024-12-13T07:51:59Z

Sierra Léone Plan national d'adaptation

Thierry — 2024-08-26T14:40:05Z

Government of Sierra Leone
UNDP
84 p
2021

Le Plan national d'adaptation initial (iNAP) répond aux objectifs généraux des Lignes directrices du Plan national d'adaptation de la CCNUCC pour réduire la vulnérabilité aux impacts du changement climatique en renforçant la capacité d'adaptation et la résilience du pays et en facilitant l'intégration de l'adaptation au changement climatique dans les mesures pertinentes politiques existantes et nouvelles, programmes et activités.

L'iNAP du pays donne également des orientations et fournit des informations sur les mesures visant à réduire la vulnérabilité au changement climatique concernant les ressources en eau, l'agriculture et la sécurité alimentaire, la santé publique, les zones côtières et les communautés à travers le pays. L'éventail des options d'adaptation a été bien défini grâce à des processus consultatifs nationaux systémiques et ascendants. Le processus lui-même a été un accomplissement significatif dans la sensibilisation, le renforcement des capacités techniques et institutionnelles et l'intégration des préoccupations d'adaptation dans les dialogues nationaux sur le développement.

Gender Analysis of Outbreak and Epidemics and Disaster Management sector in Sierra-Leone

Thierry — 2024-08-15T17:18:59Z

Government of Sierra-Leone
African Risk Capacity
54 p
2024
The study examines the capacity of the health (Public Health) and Disaster Management
sectors to effectively integrate gender perspective into public health emergency and
disaster risk management programmes.
A gender audit of institutional policies, programmes, personnel, knowledge and sensitivity to gender issues.

- Documentation / Sierra Léone, Politique/Stratégie/Plan, Intégration de la dimension de genre

Integrating Gender Perspective in Disaster Risk Management and Financing (DRM&F) and Outbreaks and Epidemics (O&E) in Sierra Leone | Policy Brief

Thierry — 2024-08-14T15:20:32Z

Government of Sierra Leone
African Risk Capacity
5 p

Sierra Leone is a small but densely populated country in West Africa with a population of approximately 7 million and a land area of 72,325 Km2. The country is divided into five main geographical regions : the coastline, interior lowland plains, interior plateau, the mountains, and the Freetown Peninsula.
Sierra Leone has a tropical climate, alternating between dry and dusty periods (December to April) and rainy season (May to November) monsoons with torrential rains and flooding. The climate and geography of Sierra Leone leave the population exposed to both natural hazards such as floods, landslides, and tropical storms, as well as infectious disease outbreaks such as Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), Meningitis, and Dengue Fever.
From 2010 to 2019, natural disasters affected roughly 43.7 thousand people and claimed over 1,150 lives in Sierra Leone (EM-DAT, 2020).
Recent major disasters are linked to episodes of heavy rain, including the 2019 flash floods in Freetown, the 2017 flood, and the Sugar Loaf landslide in the Western Area.
This policy brief highlights the existing gaps/challenges faced by the country and makes recommendations for the effective integration of gender in policies and programmes relating to DRM and O&E response.

Outbreaks and disasters are not gender neutral and women and men experience disasters and outbreaks differently.

Available evidence from previous disease outbreaks and disasters indicates severe economic damage and loss of lives with disproportionate effects on the poorest and most vulnerable particularly women and children. The differential impact is attributed to socially prescribed gender norms and behavior that perpetuate gender inequality ; the gendered division of labor between men and women ; and gender-related differences in access to and control over productive resources. For instance, during EVD, more women (56.7%) than men (43.3%) were affected. This is evident in the August 2019 Flood and mudslide in Freetown as out of 1,817 affected households, 968 are female headed, 754 males headed and 95 children–headed.
Moreover, during the EVD outbreak there was a sharp decline in maternal health indicators ; increased vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence ; and a decline and disruption in women's agricultural productivity and small –scale businesses.

Sierra Leone's Legislative, Policy and Institutional Achievements in DRM and O&E

As a consequence of the socio-economic impact of natural disasters and disease outbreaks, the Government of Sierra Leone has shown considerable efforts to improve efficiency in DRM and Public Health emergency preparedness and response through the adoption and establishment of legislative, policy, and institutional frameworks and mechanisms to effectively prevent, mitigate, and respond to epidemics and recover from their aftermath.

These include :

Adoption of National Disaster Risk Management Policy (NDRMP) in 2018.
Passing of the National Disaster Management Act (2020) and the establishment of the National Disaster Management Agency.
Establishment of Public Health National Emergency Operations Center (PHNEOC) in 2016 as a response to the 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak.
Passage of Public Health Act (2023) and establishment of the National Public Health Agency.
Commitment of the Government of Sierra Leone in Disaster Risk Financing to create Emergency Trust Fund (ETF) as provided in the National Disaster Management Act. Moreover, the Ministry of Finance is drafting a Disaster Risk Financing Strategy.
Adoption of the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) Policy and GEWE Act in 2020 and 2022 respectively represent significant milestones in efforts to integrate a gender perspective in DRM and O&E prevention and response.

Important Gaps/Challenges including the following

Gender perspective not fully integrated into O&E and DRM legislative, policy and institutional frameworks.

Apart from the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment (GEWE) Act and Policy, existing legislative and policy frameworks within the O&E and DRM sectors : such as the National Disaster Management Act, 2020, Public Health Act, and National Disaster Management Policy, 2018 do not have gender-specific provisions.

Limited capacity to mainstream gender within the O&E and DRM sectors.

Although few personnel (including gender focal persons) within Sierra Leone's national DRM and Public Health institutions have some basic gender training, the capacity for effective mainstreaming of gender requires more comprehensive training for all staff at national and sub-national levels.

No gender parity in relation to women's participation and representation, especially at field levels.

Although there are promising efforts in terms of women's representation at leadership and programme levels in the health and DRM sectors, generally women participation at community or field levels is low.

Existence of social norms and practices.

Restricting women's role to predominantly reproductive work (caring for household members) limits their participation and representation in public decision-making bodies.

In-effective mechanisms to prevent, mitigate, and respond to gender-based violence,

especially sexual exploitation and abuse during emergencies.

Financing and Budgeting is ad hoc, limited, and not gender-responsive.

The Disaster Management Fund and Public Health Emergency Trust Fund are yet to be established. DRM and Public health financing remain relatively low and at best ad hoc. Also, there is no evidence of gender-responsive budgeting in the DRM and public health emergency sector.

Key Policy Recommendations

Integrate gender transformative approaches into institutional policies and strategic frameworks : formulate gender-specific institutional policies for DRM and public health sectors ; and review existing policies and Strategic Plans : National Disaster Management Policy (2018), NDMA Strategic Plan (2020-2024, Draft National Disaster Risk Financing Strategy.

Strengthen capacity for effective mainstreaming of gender across O&E and DRM sectors : establish and formalize gender units in all related government institutions and conduct gender mainstreaming training for all DRM and Health sector staff.

Improve funding capacity for O&E response and DRM : establish and operationalize the Disaster Management Fund and Public Health Emergency Trust Fund ; facilitate policy dialogues and donor forums to mobilize resources for DRM and Public Health financing ; explore funding opportunity provided through the African Risk Capacity's Parametric Risk Transfer Insurance mechanism ; and roll-out Gender Responsive Budgeting in all sectors including Health and DRM sectors.

Increase community awareness and knowledge of the interlinkages between O&E, Disasters and Gender- Hold community radio panel discussions ; and develop and disseminate risk communication messages to address the specific needs and concerns of different genders, age groups and people with disabilities ; and engagement with diverse community groups.

Strengthen Coordination of gender-sensitive DRM and Public Health Emergency- Establish a multi-stakeholder coordination mechanism ; and convene multi-stakeholder Coordination Meetings.

Reference for Further Reading :
Report : Gender Analysis of Outbreak and Epidemics (0&E) and Disaster Management Sector in Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone Training & Policy Dialogue

Thierry — 2024-06-12T07:14:54Z

May 13-17
Sierra Leone

ARC, with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is implementing a project titled- “Gender Responsive Mechanisms for Epidemic Preparedness”, which aims to support member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to provide rapid and appropriate gender-sensitive responses to infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics in the region. Sierra Leone has been identified as a priority country that will benefit from the project, alongside Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, and Guinea Bissau.

Through this project, ARC has commissioned Gender, Health Emergency, and Disaster Risk Management Specialists in each country to lead the implementation of in-country activities. Each Specialist has conducted an in-depth gender analysis of i. the health sector from the perspective of disease outbreaks and ii. the interlinked disaster risk management and financing sector.

On 5 April 2024, ARC held a validation workshop in Freetown to review the gender analysis conducted in Sierra Leone. Participants confirmed their appropriation of the findings, recommendations, and gender action plan proposed for a transformative gender approach to preventing and responding to health- and climate-related disasters by unanimously validating the report. Key activities in the action plan are training and the findings of the gender analysis, which were summarised into a policy brief to influence gender transformative policy decisions and actions in disaster risk management (DRM) and outbreaks and epidemics (O&E). A key component of the gender action plan is capacity building through training.

In this context, ARC organized two training sets- one targetting health practitioners and the other set with civil society and DRM experts to create a training of trainers network.
The workshops aimed to sensitize them and integrate gender-responsive mechanisms into their respective roles throughout the preparedness and response cycle to health and climate-related disasters.

The outcomes are :

Enhanced understanding of Gender and Public Health Emergency (PHE) and DRM concepts.
Increased awareness of the gendered impacts of health and climate-related disasters and the importance of integrating a gender perspective into the DRM cycle and PHE preparedness and response.
Participants equipped with knowledge, tools, and skills for integrating gender in policies and programs relating to DRM and PHE preparedness and response.
Sensitisation on national legislation about Gender, Public Health Emergencies, and DRM.
Practical tools and methodologies for gender-responsive health and climate-related disaster risk assessments and financing strategies shared.
Renewed commitment to policy coherence for gender, disaster risk reduction/management, and O&E.
Relevant technical and financial partnerships for implementing critical actions and activities explored.
Increased communication and advocacy at policy, micro, and meso levels on the interlinkages between Gender, public health emergencies, and DRM.
Increased visibility and empowerment of community members, civil society, traditional authorities, and religious leaders on Gender, PHE, and DRM policies and programming.
Increased interest in ARC Programmes.

Training & Policy Dialogue | Sierra Leone

Thierry — 2024-06-12T07:01:42Z

The objectives of the training are :

To equip experts and partners in epidemic risk management with tools for integrating transformative gender strategies into their work.
To equip experts and partners in climate-related disaster risk management with tools for integrating transformative gender strategies into their work.
To equip civil society organizations and community leaders with tools for integrating transformative gender strategies in their work and advocacy on health and climate-related disaster risk management. Increased communication and advocacy at the community level for greater awareness on the gendered impacts of health and climate-related disasters.
To establish the national training network for trainers in Gender, Health Emergencies and Disaster Risk Management.

The objectives of the policy dialogue are :

To share the findings of the gender analysis through the presentation of a policy brief.
To explore the availability of resources for the implementation of critical activities geared towards gender equality and women empowerment in DRM and O&E actions.