Investing in women and girls: progress in gender equality to reap health and social returns
WHO RESPONSE
Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO, is consistent in her emphasis that the relevance and effectiveness of the Organization will be measured by its impact on two groups of people: women and the people of Africa.
WHO renewed its commitment to gender equality and women's empowerment by adopting a World Health Assembly resolution (WHA 60.25) that urges Member States to:
- include gender analysis and planning in joint strategic, operational and budget planning, as appropriate, including country cooperation strategies;
- formulate national strategies for addressing gender issues in health policies, programmes and research, including in the area of reproductive and sexual health; and
- ensure that gender equality is incorporated into all levels of health delivery and services, including those for adolescents and youth, among other measures.
In addition to its work on the health sector portion of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness to further increase resources in this area, WHO is:
- developing strategic ways to enhance investments in women and girls;
- developing tools to assess the integration of human rights and gender equality perspectives in Sector-Wide Approaches (SWAPs); and
- distributing a WHO reference guide of key resources and documents on aid harmonization and alignment for use within WHO and by its partners at the country level.