Whenever the heavens open up and El Niño threatens to turn our streets into swimming pools, county emergency playbooks pop up with the usual noise. But let’s be totally real, bana: why do disaster plans always pretend women and men go through floods the exact same way? It is high time our devolved governments stop drawing up generic climate budgets that completely lock out the specific needs of mothers, girls, and women on the ground.

Aki, Relief Food Pekee Haikutoshi!

Every time floods hit, the standard response is almost comical in its predictability. You see convoy after convoy delivering sacks of maize and a few blankets, and the leaders call it a day. Lakini who is looking at what happens inside the temporary rescue shelters? Women are left scrambling for clean water, baby food, privacy, and basic sanitary towels while trying to keep their traumatized families alive.

Si uone the reality in informal settlements and rural areas: when the mud takes over, it’s the mama who treks double the distance through filthy water to find paraffin, food, and clean water. If an expectant mother goes into labour in the middle of submerged roads, a generic bag of relief rice won't do a single thing to save two lives.

County Budgets Must Speak Mama's Language

Gender advocates are now blowing the whistle, and rightfully so. County governments keep allocating millions to "climate resilience," but if you dig into the paperwork, it’s almost entirely heavy machinery, culverts, and emergency PR stunts. Kumbe, true climate justice means budgeting with a gender lens before the clouds gather, not just reacting when houses are already submerged.

Women-headed households, mama mbogas whose vibandas get washed away overnight, and smallholder farmers bear the sharpest edge of extreme weather. If county integrated development plans don't ring-fence funds for maternal healthcare access, menstrual hygiene kits, and women-led economic recovery post-floods, then those disaster millions are just going down the drain—literally.

Dignity In The Camps Is Non-Negotiable

Safety in displacement camps is another ticking time bomb that gets brushed under the carpet. When hundreds of people are crammed into primary school classrooms without proper lighting, separate washrooms, or security, women and teenage girls face immense risks of gender-based violence. Ndio maana climate budgeting isn't just about civil engineering; it is about dignity.

It’s time for county leadership to wake up and smell the floodwaters. Involving women in disaster planning committees from the grassroots level isn't a favour—it’s the only way any El Niño response will actually work.

The Jukwaa Take: If your disaster relief budget completely ignores menstrual health, maternal safety, and women's livelihoods, you aren’t managing a crisis—you’re just pouring water into a leaking bucket.

📰 Source: Nation Africa • Jukwaa Pan-Africa Desk