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p. 2 of 8 BACK | NEXT Purpose of the checklist Why is gender important in health projects? Key questions and action points in the project cycle Gender issues in the health sector Gender issues in reproductive health Gender issues in family planning Gender issues in health delivery systems Strategies for gender mainstreaming in health projects

Gender Checklist: health

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Why is gender important in health projects?

Women have the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Their enjoy-ment of this right is vital to their life and well-being and their ability to participate in all areas of public and private life. Because women are visible in the health-care system both as caregivers and as clients, there is a widespread misperception that health projects auto-matically address women’s empowerment. Gender gaps in health status, in access and use of health services, and in health outcomes persist, sig-nifying a need to address gender inequality in health sector reforms.

In many developing countries the availability and quality of health care has been further reduced because of the deterioration of public health systems and the privatization of health-care systems without appropriate guarantees of universal access to affordable health care. This situation not only directly affects the health of girls and women, but also places disproportionate responsibilities on women. Their multiple roles, including their roles within the family and the community, are often not acknowledged; hence, they do not receive the necessary social, psy-chological, and economic support.

Human capital is the primary asset of the poor. Its develop-ment is of fundamental impor-tance in reducing poverty. Every person must have access to primary health care and other essential services. Without such access the poor and their children will have little opportunity to improve their economic status or to participate fully in society. Poverty and gender are also interrelated factors underlying women’s vulnerability to mental illness, to violence, and to stigmatization due to health problems, leading in some cases to their exclusion from society. However, the prevalence of violence against women across all social groups and its health consequences, dramatically illustrate that a focus on poverty alone is insufficient.

Health and well-being are also dependent on health-seeking behavior, and poor women and girls are least likely to have access to appropriate care or to seek adequate treatment.

The Bank, in its health sector projects, seeks to promote primary health care strategies and to provide assistance to high-risk populations, particular the poor, children, and women of reproductive age. These principles favor projects that will include women, but care must be taken to get women actively involved in the planning and delivery of health interventions. Women’s health is affected by their economic and social status; therefore improving women’s health depends, among other factors, on improving their standard of living, education, and working conditions. Planners should recognize women’s role as providers and promoters of preventive as well as curative health care within the household and the community. Women must be seen as agents of change, and not only as beneficiaries of development interventions.

One area in which there should be a strong focus on women is the promotion of effective woman-to-woman services for maternal and child health. This area encompasses prenatal and postnatal monitoring and care, family planning information and resources, and general reproductive health care, including information about the risks and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). The services should also cover child health, including immunization, infant growth monitoring, and advice about nutrition, hygiene and disease prevention, oral rehydration therapy, and so on. In many DMCs, unless the health-care providers are female, accessible, and culturally sympathetic, women will not take advantage of the services that are available or obtain information to improve their health and that of their families. A key gender and development (GAD) strategy for the health sector should therefore consist of training women in the health professions and encouraging the growth of participatory, community-based women-to-women health services.

But while there are important reasons to focus on women-to-women services, men must not be over-looked. Men may play key decision-making roles in the allocation of household resources, in decisions about family planning, and in community organizations. Both women and men must therefore be fully involved in projects that are aimed at improving family, reproductive, and community health. An effective public health program will combine woman-to-woman services with a family health approach and programs targeted at the men in all aspects of family, reproductive, and community health.

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