In Photos: Hillary Clinton in Gujarat, Announces $50 Mn Climate Fund for Women

The former US Secretary of State is on a two-day visit to Gujarat.

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, announced a 'Global Climate Resilience Fund' of $50 million on Monday, 6 February, to empower women to tackle the effects of climate change.

(Photo: PTI)

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, announced a 'Global Climate Resilience Fund' of $50 million on Monday, 6 February, to empower women to tackle the effects of climate change, stating it poses an additional challenge to women who work in the informal sectors. "Today, Clinton Global Initiative with the American Indian foundation, SEWA (Self Empoyed Women's Association founded by late activist Ela Bhatt) and other organisations, I announce 50 million dollar Global Climate Resilience Fund for women," Clinton said, addressing salt pan workers near Kuda village in Gujarat's Surendranagar district.

Addressing members of SEWA in Ahmedabad the previous day, Clinton said, "You've overcome so many obstacles, broken through so many barriers. But now you face an additional challenge – the challenge that climate change presents – of heat."

Clinton was speaking on the occasion of SEWA’s 50th anniversary on Sunday, 5 February, during which she also paid tribute to Ela Bhatt, a social worker, Gandhian, and the founder of SEWA, who died in November 2022. She also unveiled a plaque near a banyan tree planted by Bhatt at Victoria Garden last year.

Clinton said the 'Global Climate Resilience Fund' was supported by the Clinton Global Initiative, Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, Algorand Foundation, Council for Inclusive Capitalism, and the American India Foundation. These organisations would work with SEWA to support women affected by climate change, she added.

"Whether you're in construction, or you are in waste recycling, or you are in plastic, or you are a street vendor, or you are a farmer, whatever you are, your challenge to make an income to support yourselves and work throughout the days of overwhelming heat will be the next big problem that SEWA will help you try to resolve," she told the gathering in Ahmedabad.

In a 2018 social media post, Clinton described Ela Bhatt's work as a "revolutionary experiment." She had said, "In 1972, she (Bhatt) started an organisation to give women small loans that could help them find fulfilment in their work and contribute to their family's well-being. It was called the Self-Employed Women's Association, or SEWA."

Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who is on a two-day visit to Gujarat, announced a 'Global Climate Resilience Fund' of $50 million on Monday, 6 February, to tackle the effects of climate change, which poses an additional challenge to women who work in the informal sectors.

"Today, Clinton Global Initiative with the American Indian foundation, SEWA (Self Empoyed Women's Association founded by late activist Ela Bhatt) and other organisations, I announce 50 million dollar Global Climate Resilience Fund for women," Clinton said, addressing salt pan workers near Kuda village in Gujarat's Surendranagar district.

Addressing the members of Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA) in Ahmedabad the previous day, Clinton said, "You've overcome so many obstacles, broken through so many barriers. But now you face an additional challenge – the challenge that climate change presents – of heat."

Clinton was speaking on the occasion of SEWA's 50th anniversary, during which she also paid tribute to Ela Bhatt, a social worker, Gandhian, and the founder of SEWA, who died in November 2022. She also unveiled a plaque near a banyan tree planted by Bhatt at Ahmedabad's Victoria Garden last year.

(With inputs from PTI, ANI.)