This project documents the activities carried out between April and August 20, 2025, under the initiative “Sustainable Peace and Climate Action through Gender Mainstreaming in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)” in Adamawa State. The project sought to strengthen state-level resilience to climate shocks and disasters by embedding gender equality and social inclusion in DRR and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) planning and implementation.

During the implementation period, a series of strategic interventions was undertaken. These included a stakeholders’ consultative meeting that convened government representatives, community leaders, women-led organizations, youth groups, and persons with disabilities to discuss gaps in existing DRR and CCA frameworks. Applied research was carried out to assess the gendered impacts of climate change and disaster risks in Adamawa, generating evidence on how floods, droughts, and displacement differentially affect women, men, and marginalized groups. The research findings were reviewed and strengthened through a validation workshop with multi-stakeholder input. Building on this evidence, a policy brief was developed to distill concrete recommendations for policymakers. Advocacy visits were also conducted to key Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) to promote the adoption of gender-responsive reforms. In addition, a live radio programme expanded public awareness on DRR and climate governance while amplifying women’s voices, a capacity-building workshop equipped frontline responders, women leaders, and government officials with tools for gender mainstreaming in DRR and CCA, and a digital campaign utilized social media platforms to promote awareness, knowledge dissemination, and advocacy messaging targeted at youth and broader citizen engagement.

The interventions collectively revealed critical systemic gaps that undermine inclusive disaster preparedness and climate resilience in the state. Chief among these were weak policy enforcement, limited institutional coordination, and the insufficient availability of sex- and age-disaggregated data (SADDD). The research further underscored that women, girls, and persons with disabilities bear a disproportionate burden of climate-related risks. These groups are more likely to experience displacement, economic marginalization, and exposure to gender-based violence, yet they remain largely excluded from decision-making and resource allocation processes related to climate action and disaster risk reduction.

Importantly, the initiative did not only highlight these challenges but also generated practical and actionable pathways forward. Among the most critical recommendations were the enforcement of inclusive DRR and CCA policies that guarantee the meaningful participation of women, youth, and persons with disabilities in resilience planning; the strengthening of women leaders and frontline responders so that they are able to contribute to early warning, preparedness, and response systems; and the institutionalization of SADDD as a standard practice to inform policy, planning, and monitoring. Other recommendations included the establishment of community-based feedback and accountability mechanisms to ensure that local perspectives shape state-level planning and resource allocation, as well as the securing of dedicated budgetary allocations for gender-responsive climate and disaster interventions across MDAs.

The advocacy dimension of the initiative has already laid the groundwork for sustained policy dialogue and institutional reforms. Engagements with relevant MDAs are ongoing to embed these recommendations into official frameworks and operational plans, while also promoting women’s leadership in climate governance across Adamawa State.

Overall, the project demonstrates that gender mainstreaming is not peripheral but central to building sustainable peace, effective disaster risk reduction, and climate resilience. By positioning women and marginalized groups as active agents rather than passive victims, Adamawa State can strengthen its adaptive capacity, promote inclusive governance, and model a gender-responsive approach to DRR and CCA for other states in Nigeria and beyond.