KENYATTA UNIVERSITY

GROUP 14

MEMBERS

Lucy Mutheu Yumbya: c01|0304|2014

Cynthia Kaweru: c69|3750|2014

Chuchu Zilpa Kokote: c69|3711|2014

Harmony Samuel: c01|0500|2015

Purity Kendi: c01|0183|2015

Gitamu Priscah: c69|4191|2013

Julius Mwangi: c01|0102|2013

Mujyambere Iradukunda: c69|3732|2014

Lecturer: Willis Mwangi.

TASK: SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER.

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without
compromising those of the future. This kind of development allows the future generations to
meet their needs comfortably. For this reason the United Nations came up with the Sustainable
Development Goals after realizing that most 2030 millennium goals were not met by 2015.
These have been developed on a country level where their effect can be followed and their effect
on women, men and children.

1.No Poverty. The main objective is to eradicate poverty in all its forms everywhere. The
sustainable development goals aims at ending poverty in all dimensions. Women who are
believed to form the largest percentage of the poor are likely to be empowered by instilling in
them skills such as tailoring to earn them income. This will reduce their bargaining power at
domestic levels, increase family finance and reduce gender based violence in, for example, at
domestic and public settings. The financial burden felt by men will also reduce. Economically,
the national income of a country will realize a great improvement due to a large number of
people engaging in businesses increasing the amount of disposable income within the family.

2.Ending hunger and achieve food security. To promote sustainable development the focus is
on agriculture. This is likely to improve men and women, boys and girls nutrition and promote
healthy living. Boys and girls will therefore not experience absenteeism from school due to
hunger. Women will not be forced by circumstances to move long distances in search of food.
The men would have been saved from migrating to urban areas and separating from their
families in search of food. Economically, member countries are likely to engage in more
agricultural research to increase farm output and provide better breeds that withstand adverse
conditions. Eliminating gender disparities such as stereotyping and gender blind rules in primary
and secondary schools.

3.Good Health and Wellbeing. Significant progress has been made that would increase life
expectancy and as well reduce some of the common killers that are associated with child and also
maternal mortality, and major strides have been made therefore increasing access to clean water
and sanitation and reducing the spread of diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, polio and the
spread of HIV/AIDS. Nevertheless, only half of women in developing countries have received
the health care they need, and the need for family planning is increasing exponentially, while the
need met is growing slowly – more than 225 million women have an unmet need for
contraception.

Another important target is to substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from
pollution-related diseases. According to the United Nations Official Document 2016 the target to
achieve sustainable development includes by 2030, to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio
to less than 70 per 100,000 live births. By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and
children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as
low as 12 per 1,000 live births and children under five years mortality to at least as low as 25 per
1,000 live births. By 2030, end the epidemics of AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and neglected
tropical diseases and combat hepatitis, water-borne diseases and other communicable diseases.
By 2030, reduce by one third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through
prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being. Strengthen the prevention
and treatment of substance abuse, including narcotic drug abuse and harmful use of alcohol. By
2020, halve the number of global deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents. By 2030, ensure
universal access to sexual and reproductive health-care services, including for family planning,
information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and
programmes. Achieve universal health coverage, including financial risk protection, access to
quality essential health-care services and access to safe, effective, quality and affordable essential
medicines and vaccines for all. By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses
from hazardous chemicals and air, water and soil pollution and contamination.

4.Quality Education. To ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong
learning opportunities for all. Less has been made for education access, specifically at the
primary school level, for both boys and girls. However, access does not always mean quality of
education, or completion of their primary school studies. Currently, 103 million youth worldwide
still lack basic literacy skills, and more than 60 per cent of them are women. The sustainable
development goals target that by 2030, they ensure that all girls and boys complete free,
equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and quality and
effective learning outcomes this shows their commitment to nondiscriminatory education
outcomes which ensures that retrogressive cultural practices that do not allow women to go to
school are done with. Eliminating gender disparities such as stereotyping and gender blind rules
in primary and secondary schools. This will ensure that both boys and girls complete their
education. Acqusition of knowledge and skills will increase their opportunity to participate in
decision making both in political and domestic spheres.

5.Gender equality. Gender equality is a state that affords men and women equal enjoyment of
right, social valued good goals. It is not only a fundamental human right but a necessary
foundation for peace ,prosperous and sustainable world.

Providing women and girls with equal access to education, health care, decent work and
representation in political and economic decision making processes will fuel sustainable
economies and benefit societies and humanities at large. Gender equality is a human right a
concern for us all because no society can develop; economically, politically or socially, when
half of its population is marginalized. We must leave no one behind.
It is critical to engage boys and men in the fight against gender based discrimination and
violence. We all have opportunity to secure a better future and raise a new generation of girls and
boys who respect one another and work together to protect the rights of all people.

The implication is not providing girls with equal voices, choices and opportunities affect not just
their lives but the future of the planet. Efforts to promote inclusive sustainable development and
fight climate change are inextricably linked. If we care about development, we opt to care about
the consequences our greenhouse-gas emissions are having around the world.

Women are among those most vulnerable to the impacts of unsustainable practices and climate
change, because they often have no independent income or land rights. In many countries,
women are responsible of the provision of water and food for their families. When the usual
sources of these resources are disrupted, women are forced to travel further and spend more time
working for less return. Scarcity requires them to make difficult choices like pulling children out
of school or deciding which family member can afford to skip a meal.

Women are the most convincing advocates for the solutions that they need, so they should be at
the for front of decision making on sustainable development and climate change mitigation.

6.Access to clean water and sanitation. Sanitation means promoting hygiene through the
prevention of human contact with hazards of water by proper treatment and disposal of the waste
often mixed into wastewater.

For sustainable development, clean water and sanitation has to be considered. This access to
clean water and sanitation being one of the goals of sustainable development affects both men
and women in a number of ways. Both men and women needs water for domestic use. However,
women need water more than men do because of the gendered roles they play in society such as
cleaning, cooking, washing, and they need it for the animals especially in rural areas. Actually,
experts say that without progress in this goal, other goals and targets for sustainable development
cannot be achieved. (Geeta, October 2015). According to the UNDP 2015, among the first three
targets of the sustainable development goals is enough clean water and sanitation. They say,
water scarcity affects more than 40% of people around the world. This figure is projected to
increase with the rise of global temperatures as a result of climate change. Access to adequate
and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to
the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations will create an enabling
environment for day to day operations. Safe drinking water and hygienic toilets protect people
from diseases and enable societies to be productive.

7.Affordable and clean energy. Ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern
energy for all will encourage growth of a country and help the environment through investing in
clean energy sources such as solar, wind and thermal. This goal is an essential prerequisite to
achieving many other sustainable development goals such as eradication of poverty, increasing
food production, providing clean water, improving public health, enhancing education, creating
economic opportunities and empowering women. According to UNDP, as the global population
continues to rise so will be the demand for cheap energy. Economy that relies on fossil fuels and
the increase of greenhouse gas emissions is creating drastic changes to the climate system which
affects everyone. Energy is the dominant contributor to climate change which accounts for
around 60% of global greenhouse gas emissions. (UNDP,2015).

8.Decent work and economic growth. Most of the world's population live on the equivalent of
about 2US dollars per day. A reduction in number of decent work opportunities, insufficient
investments and under consumption may

lead to erosion of social contract which underlie democratic societies. Sustainable economic

growth will therefore require the society to create conditions that will allow people to get

quality jobs that stimulate the economy. Job opportunities and decent working conditions are

required for the increasing working age population. Promoting development policies that

support productive activities, decent job creation creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship

and also encouraging the formalization and growth of small and upcoming enterprises

through access to financial services may help in sustainable development. Through

strengthening the capacity of domestic financial institutions to motivate and expand access to

banking insurance and financial services to all ma also lead to development in the society..
Investments in infrastructure may include communication technology, energy, transport and

irrigation among others and are very important in achieving sustainable development and
empowerment of communities. Most countries have noted that growth in productivity and

incomes and improvement in health and education may need investment in infrastructure

. Industrial development is the main source of income generation, allows for increases in loving

standards for people and provides the technological solutions to environmentally sound

industrialization. If there is lack of technology and innovation industrialization may not happen

and without industrialization development will not happen.

10.Reduced Inequalities. Social norms that treat women as second class citizens in many cases
translate into structural obstacles to progress such as laws that fails to punish perpetrators of
gender based violence or budgets that do not fund the services women need most.

United Nation Women works to reduce inequalities within and among countries through
advocacy for decent work, social protection and gender sensitivity economy policies around the
world. The entity's mandate is focused on empowering women and reducing gender inequalities
in all spheres. United Nation Women advocates for employment policies that improve labor
market conditions and advance decent work for women as well as making sure domestic workers
can migrate safely and receive social protection, it also supports advocacy for national economic
and legislation to regulate migration and protect women migrant workers, as well as, frontline
services, information and capacity building.

11.Sustainable cities and communities. Sustainable city life is one of 17 global goals that
make up the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. More than half of the world’s population
now lives in urban areas. By 2050, that figure will have risen to 6.5 billion of people. This means
it’s actually two thirds of humanity. Sustainable development therefore cannot be achieved
without significantly transforming the way we build and manage our urban spaces. The rapid
growth of cities in the developing world coupled with increasing rural to urban migration has led
to a boom in mega cities with 10 million inhabitants or more. In 2024, there are 28 mega –cities,
home to a total 453 million people. Extreme poverty is often concentrated in urban spaces and
national. City government struggle to accommodate the rising population in these areas. Making
cities safe and sustainable means ensuring access to safe and sustainable means ensuring access
to safe affordable housing and upgrading slum settlement. It also involves investment in public
transport, creating green public spaces and improving urban planning and management in a way
that is both participating and inclusive. With much of future towers and cities not yet built, their
design and shape must be proactively guided to attain long term sustainable. Expert even predicts
that the used for building cities will double in the next 20 years. The only way the new SDGs can
be universally relevant if they are relevant to the city dwellers. This is vital to construct this
future urban fabric more sustainably since once it has been built change is difficult and slow.Its
main targets include enhancing sustainable and inclusive urbanizations well as capacity for
integrated sustainable and participating human settlement management and planning in every
country. Significantly lower the total number of people who die or are affected and considerably
reduce the direct financial losses about worldwide GDP triggered by disasters with an emphasis
on vulnerable people and the poor. Support constructive social environment and economic links
between rural urban and peri-urban areas through strengthen regional and national development
planning. It also tries to make sure everyone has access to safe, adequate and cheap basic
services and housing as well as upgrade slums. Most metro Politian areas and cities around the
world have already started investing in sustainable innovation and streamlining their
infrastructure governments the real estate sector must also offer support and need to be
committed to curb speculation so as to attain post – 2015 sustainable development. However, this
cannot be done by private sector alone there must be valid input from all concerned parties to
realize the goal of sustainable cities and communities.

12.Ensuring responsible consumption and production. Achieving economic growth and

sustainable development requires that we urgently reduce our ecological foot print by changing
the way we produce and consume good and resources. Agriculture is the biggest user of water
worldwide, and irrigation now claims close to 70percent off all fresh water for human use. This
goal targets to achieve certain objectives such as,

Implementing the 10year frame work of programs on sustainable consumption and production all
countries taking action with developed countries taking the lead into account. The development
and capabilities of developing countries.

By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes
throughout their life cycle in accordance with agreed international frameworks and significantly
reduce their release to air water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human
health and the environment.

Focuses on halving per capital global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce
food losses along production and supply chains including post –harvest losses by 2030.

By 2030, achier sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources.

Encourage companies especially large and translation companies to adopt sustainable practices
and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle.

Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable in accordance with national policies
and priorities.

Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable
tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products.

Rationalize inefficient fossils fuel subsides that encourage wasteful consumption by removing
market distortions in accordance with national circumstances including by restructuring taxation
and phasing out those harmful subsides where they exist to reflect their environmental impacts
taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and
minimizing the possible advise impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor
and the affected communities.

13.Climate action. Climate change is now affecting every country on every continent. It is
disrupting national economies and affecting lives, costing people communities and countries
clearly today and even more. men and women are affected by climate change differently women
are more vulnerable to disaster due to their economic and social position. That is women are
subordinate of men. Most resources such as land , water, finance are owned and control by men
and women can only access them hence not make major decisions about them hence Key
decision making institutions related to climate change are male dominated. Since women and
men are affected differently by climate change it has and will, a gender differentiated impact.
therefore, all aspects related to climate change must include a gender perspective. women are
powerful agents of change and their leadership is important.it is therefore important to analyze
the gender issues and concern of climate change in development from the angle of emissions and
also to consider ways of redress from a gender perspective promoting development in Africa.

15.Life on land. Human life depends on the earth and ocean for sustenance and livelihood.
Women compared to men are mostly affected often charged with making up short falls in food
and fuel. their limited ownership of land reduces their capacity to adapt to losses or make
decision about how land is used for the best of themselves and environment. Sustainable
ecosystem use, which also depend on gender equality in all dimensions access to land,
livelihoods and natural resources and a say in how they are shared .women need to be included
decision making on ecosystem.

16.Promote peace, justice and strong institutions. Some regions in Kenya are filled with
armed conflict, crime, torture and exploitation which hinder their development. In these regions
women and children are the most affected because they are usually unarmed hence they can't
protect themselves. The women hence undergo rape, torture and are sometimes kidnapped as
slaves. Sustainable development goals aim to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for
sustainable development, provide justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive
societies at all levels.This would go a long way in reducing all forms of violence and help
government and communities find lasting solutions to conflict and insecurity.

17.Developing partnerships for the goals. Sustainable development goals such as addressing
poverty, inequality and violence against women and girls are pretty demanding and may seem
not possible to meet worldwide. However, in our modern world we are more connected than ever
before through the internet, travel and global institutions. This goal lays down a way in which
nations can work together by partnering and agreeing to carry out these goals.
Conclusion.

Sustainable development aims at improving the lives of men and women, boys and girls. The key
areas of sustainable development are to facilitate prosperity, enhance the dignity of people,
ensure justice for everyone, promote growth of people standards of living and promote
partnerships.

References.

UNDP (2015)

United Nations Official Document (2016)

Rao Gupta, Geeta (October 2015)