CTI-CFF Covid-19 Cooperative Action Plan

This document, “COVID-19 impacts on women in fisheries in the Coral Triangle: A cooperative action plan on working together towards gender equality and building back better” is an output of the CTI-CFF Women Leaders’ Forum “Learning Exchange on Addressing and Coping with COVID‐ 19 in the Coral Triangle Region” conducted on May 25, 2022. The sharing and discussion that ensued during the online event highlighted issues faced by women in the Coral Triangle region during the pandemic and identified areas that need action by various stakeholders in the marine and fisheries resources sector. The event was organized by USAID Sustainable Fish Asia Local Capacity Development Activity (SUFIA LCD, implemented by RTI International) in collaboration with USAID Sustainable Fish Asia Technical Support Activity (SUFIA TS, implemented by Tetra Tech).

With reports that the COVID‐19 pandemic has affected women and men differently and that women bear not only the economic impacts of the pandemic but also the physical and emotional impacts, it is imperative for governments, non-government organizations, the private sector, and civil society to recognize and act on this issue. A large number of women have taken up a disproportionate amount of domestic work and unpaid care, in addition to the productive roles to ensure the basic needs of their households are met during the difficult pandemic times.

In coming up with the recommendations, participants in the Learning Exchange event in May 2022 discussed the experiences and challenges women working in the fisheries sector in the Coral Triangle region, along with those from other countries, brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic. The recommendations align with the CTI-CFF GESI Policy and the CTI-CFF Regional Plan of Action (RPOA 2.0) aspirations for a full GESI integration by 2030. The framework for recommendations is based on WorldFish’s recommended framework to improve gender equity in fisheries, transform food systems for greater resiliency and equality, and build back better.

This cooperative action plan will enable CTI-CFF WLF and its partners to work together toward gender equality and building-back better, to counteract the detrimental impacts of the pandemic, and to provide practitioners with a roadmap on how to do it. This can also serve as a guide for other disaster-related events that are impacting the region.

On 28th September 2023, the Women Leaders’ Forum members and representatives convened a workshop to review this cooperative action plan and agreed to table it to the next 18th Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM-18) for approval and endorsement.

The Guideline is a living document, thus will be reviewed from time to time.