Women most vulnerable in disasters but left out in policies to reduce risk

The four day Third Global Congress of Women in Politics and Governance which took place in Manila, Philippines and concluded today has been covering the issue of gender in climate change and natural disasters.

"The London School of Economics did a research of 141 disasters worldwide and for every disaster, out of five people who died, four of them were women," says Lorena Aguilar, IUCN Global Senior Gender Adviser.

"Womens' role in reducing risk is essential. They take care of education, organizing communities and protecting homes. They need to have the capacity and power to make decisions, but women are usually left behind in education and end up as majority of victims along with children" concluded Dr. Salvano Briceño, director of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction.