WHO gender strategy

WHO commits to gender equity in health, in line with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).   A strategy for Integrating gender analysis and actions into the work of WHO was endorsed at the 60th World Health Assembly (May 2007). The WHO gender strategy calls for mainstreaming of gender throughout WHO as a way to better support Member States in achieving goals of gender equality and health equity.  

Strategic directions:

The WHO gender strategy has 4 strategic directions.

1.  Build WHO capacity for gender analysis and planning;

2.  Bring gender into the mainstream of WHO’s management;

3.  Promote the use of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis, 

4.  Establish accountability. 

 

WHO gender policy

WHO issued an organization-wide gender policy in 2002 asking all staff members to integrate gender perspectives in programmatic areas as well as within administrative and operating procedures.    The social roles of men, women, boys, and girls can be responsible for different vulnerabilities to illness and different health outcomes.  Situations in which those roles contribute to vulnerabilities in illness should be identified and addressed within health policies and programmes.