HP+ recognizes gender equality as a core development objective that is fundamental to the realization of human rights and key to achieving sustainable health and development outcomes. Critical to our work is a clear understanding of how gender influences local policy environments, the development and implementation of health programs, and health outcomes. As a cross-cutting issue, gender equality is incorporated into HP+ activities, both to facilitate achievement of positive results and to ensure that all people—regardless of sex, gender identity, or sexual preference—can enjoy equal rights to lead healthy and productive lives and contribute to the development of their countries’ health systems.
HP+ integrates gender principles into all aspects of its work by:
Supporting country partners to examine health policies through a gender lens to guarantee that health services are consistently accessible and acceptable to all populations
Strengthening the capacity of local partners to develop and implement laws, policies, and services that guarantee gender equitable access to healthcare
Supporting country partners to advocate for policies and laws that promote gender equality for improved, locally sustained health outcomes
Supporting the efforts of health systems partners to ensure that their work respects and protects individuals' rights, regardless of age, marital status, sex, sexual preference, gender identity, or gender expression
Promoting women's leadership to strengthen individual and collective leadership, policy, advocacy, and joint accountability capabilities
Strengthening the capacity of local partners to collect and use gender data to inform policy development and monitor progress on health and gender outcomes
HP+ works toward mainstreaming GSD competency in the global HIV response. The project provides expert guidance to help people understand how stigma and discrimination negatively affect gender and sexual minorities’ health and lives, and recognize opportunities to reduce stigma.
Key Takeaways from an Expert Consultation on Family Planning, Financing, and Gender
October 2021 —
HP+ has published key takeaways from an expert consultation to advance dialogue and find common ground for including a gender lens in family planning financing, recognizing that gender is one of multiple factors that inhibit many individuals’ access to family planning. The May 2021 consultation convened family planning financing and gender experts from USAID, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector to discuss how to better integrate gender into family planning and health financing systems to make access to family planning information and services more gender-equitable for all clients. In addition to the key takeaways, the brief provides the group’s perspectives, recommendations, and practical next steps.
Malawi’s Youth Participate in Policy Review and Development
October 2021 —
In late August 2021, HP+ and partners organized a meeting in Malawi focused on youth, education, gender, and health, which provided a platform for stakeholders—including youth themselves—to strategize on positive youth development, share evidence-based interventions, and propose policy and programmatic recommendations. Youth participants used the meeting as an opportunity to effectively engage officials from various ministries working on youth issues. They suggested innovative and youth-tailored solutions that covered topics such as mental health, sexual and reproductive health and rights, accountability platforms, capacity strengthening, and collaboration among youth and government ministries. In addition, youth participants advocated for greater representation in each sector and ministry, a greater focus on cyberbullying, and stronger mechanisms to curb and report on sexual and gender-based violence. These recommendations will inform the follow-on youth-friendly health services strategy, updating the 2015–2020 strategy.
Malawi Embraces Methodology for Advancing Gender Equity
May 2021 —
HP+ and Feed the Future conducted a gender-focused leadership training for 15 youth leaders under age 30 from youth-led organizations in Malawi. The training used the Gender Action Learning System methodology, which empowers communities to articulate needs, envision change, and identify gender-equitable initiatives. Suited to communities with limited literacy and numeracy skills, it communicates abstract concepts such as gender sensitivity and isolates the roots of social norms. HP+ adapted the methodology to include positive youth development domains and policy. Participants demonstrate leadership growth by replicating the training and spearheading the development agenda of their organizations, communities, and districts. Participants are expected to implement what they learned in their communities. There are already results from the training. One youth leader secured an internship with the training partner and another facilitated a similar training in her community less than two weeks later. HP+, Feed the Future, and MERAMO Consulting will continue to monitor and offer technical support to the youth leaders as they cascade the methodology within their communities.
HP+ Blog Post on Gender Equity Considerations in the Pandemic Response Reaches Wide Audience
April 2020 —
A blog post co-authored by HP+’s Director for Family Planning and Reproductive Health, Jay Gribble, and gender adviser Beth Rottach discussing the importance of gender considerations amid the COVID-19 pandemic response was published by the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s ScienceSpeaks blog. The article was also cross-posted to the International Conference for Family Planning 2021’s COVID and Reproductive Health blog. These platforms reach a wide audience of infectious disease and family planning experts, offering recommendations to ensure that the ongoing health needs of women and the people who care for them are positioned at the forefront in the global response to the pandemic.
United Nations Foundation Launches HP+-Supported Framework for Women Worker Health and Empowerment
October 2019 —
After many months of consultation with leading corporations and NGOs on boosting women’s health and empowerment in the workplace, the United Nations Foundation publicly released the Framework for Corporate Action on Workplace Women’s Health and Empowerment at a UN General Assembly side event on September 23. The framework, which offers a roadmap for gender-responsive policies, practices, and programs with health as the centerpiece of women’s empowerment, was developed by Meridian International—a non-profit, public diplomacy organization supported by HP+. In addition to providing concrete action steps for corporations and global supply chains to support these initiatives, the framework features publicly available tools and resources that can help companies to implement workplace interventions. At a consultation workshop during the Women Deliver conference in June, Meridian’s David Wofford presented the framework’s policy and systems change component that included information drawn from the HP+ Family Planning-Sustainable Development Goals (FP-SDGs) model. The final framework addresses workplace women’s health, gender-based violence, and professional advancement, with a priority placed on expanding access to services.
