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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Carol L Boender, MA1, Sidney Schuler, PhD2, Diana Santana, MA2, Diana Santillan, MA2, Margaret E. Greene, PhD3, and Karen Hardee, PhD4. (1) Consultant, Empowerment of Women Research Program, JSI Research & Training Institute, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 11th floor, Arlington, VA 22209, 202-361-8041, carolboender@lycos.com, (2) Empowerment of Women Research Program, JSI Research & Training Institute, 1616 N. Fort Myer Drive, 11th floor, Arlington, VA 22209, (3) Research Department, Population Action International, 1300 19th Street, NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036, (4) The Futures Group International, 1050 17th Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20036
The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in Cairo reoriented international population assistance strategies away from fertility reduction to a human rights approach to reproductive health. In particular, gender-based inequities were identified as barriers to reproductive health. The action agenda that resulted from the ICPD identified many avenues for pursuing women’s empowerment and gender equity in population and development programs, but the best arguments for following them have been based on equity and rights concerns rather than solid evidence showing where these avenues will lead. To provide a sounder basis for integrating gender concerns into reproductive health programs, the US Agency for International Development’s Inter-Agency Gender Working Group commissioned a literature review addressing the question, “What do we know to date about the relationship between gender-sensitive programming and reproductive health/demographic outcomes?” This paper will present findings from the review. By gathering evaluation reports and journal articles and interviewing key resource persons in the reproductive health arena, we have assembled summaries of gender-sensitive interventions in six areas: maternal morbidity/mortality, unintended pregnancy, HIV/STDs, violence against women, men’s involvement, and system-wide approaches. In our analysis, we present gender-based barriers in each area and examples of strategies that have been used to overcome them, making a distinction between initiatives that work with or work around gender norms and those that challenge them. The evidence supports using a gender perspective in reproductive health program design and suggests a number of model programs as best practices.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Gender, International Reproductive Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.