Advancing gender, equity and human rights through programmes and policies
WHO takes an integrated approach to mainstreaming gender together with equity and human rights at the global, regional and country levels in order to address the drivers of inequality and poor health. This involves:
- Determining who is left behind and why through analyzing data and assessing barriers to improve health outcomes
- Using evidence to address barriers and strengthen policies and programmes
- Monitoring progress through reviewing and reporting
- Building capacity among technical staff and dedicating adequate resources to promote gender equality and gender mainstreaming
- Strengthening engagement with civil society and fostering their participation
This approach begins at WHO’s highest policy and technical levels. WHO programmes and policies are encouraged to develop appropriate gender-specific responses in all their strategic objectives.
Technical areas that have already taken gender into consideration in their work include adolescent health; ageing and life course; cancer; environmental health; the health workforce; HIV; immunization; maternal, newborn and child health; mental health; neglected tropical diseases; polio; sexual and reproductive health; and violence and injuries. As a result, WHO has made progress in meeting and exceeding requirements on performance indicators detailed in the United Nations System-wide Action Plan towards gender quality and the empowerment of women (UNSWAP), which enables gender issues to be mainstreamed systematically into all major institutional functions of UN agencies.
