SIXTIETH WORLD HEALTH ASSEMBLY Agenda item 12.12
WHA60.25 23 May 2007
Integrating gender analysis and actions into the work of WHO: draft strategy The Sixtieth World Health Assembly, Having considered the draft strategy for integrating gender analysis and actions into the work of WHO;1 Recalling the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development (Cairo, 1994), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (Beijing, 1995), the recommendations of Beijing plus 10 Conference (2005) and their reports, the Economic and Social Council’s agreed conclusions 1997/2, the United Nations Millennium Declaration 2000, the 2005 World Summit Outcome2 and resolution WHA58.30 on accelerating achievement of the internationally agreed health-related development goals, including those contained in the Millennium Declaration, 1. NOTES WITH APPRECIATION the strategy for integrating gender analysis and actions into the work of WHO; 2. URGES Member States: (1) to include gender analysis and planning in joint strategic, and operational planning, and budget planning as appropriate, including country cooperation strategies; (2) to formulate national strategies for addressing gender issues in health policies, programmes and research, including in the area of reproductive and sexual health; (3) to lay emphasis on training and sensitization on, and promotion of, gender, women and health; (4) to ensure that a gender-equality perspective is incorporated in all levels of health-care delivery and services, including those for adolescents and youth; (5) to collect and analyse sex-disaggregated data, conduct research on the factors underlying gender disparities and use the results to inform policies and programmes; 1 2
Document A60/19. United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/1.
WHA60.25
(6) to make progress towards gender equality in the health sector, in order to ensure that the contribution of women, men, girls and boys as providers of health care is considered in health policy and planning and training for the health-care workers; 3. REQUESTS the Director-General: (1) to assess and address gender differences and inequalities in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of WHO’s work, and to include this requirement in post descriptions and criterion in performance evaluation; (2) to define indicators and to monitor, and assure accountability for, implementation of the strategy by the Secretariat at headquarters and in regional and country offices; (3) to support and sustain incorporation of a gender perspective into the mainstream of WHO’s policies and programmes, including through recruiting staff as soon as possible with specific responsibility and experience on gender and women’s health; (4) to provide support to Member States in order to build their capacity for gender analysis and action, and for formulating and sustaining strategies and action plans (and relevant budgets) for integrating gender equality in all health policies, programmes, and research; (5) to give priority to the use of sex-disaggregated data and gender analysis in WHO’s publications, including relevant documents submitted to the Executive Board and the Health Assembly, and in efforts to strengthen health-information systems in order to ensure that they reflect awareness of gender equality as a determinant of health; (6) to ensure that programmatic and thematic evaluations indicate the extent to which gender issues have been incorporated in the Organization’s work; (7) to identify, and divulgate information about, good practices on measuring the impact of integrating gender into health policies, including the development of indicators and healthinformation systems that disaggregate data by sex; (8) to ensure full implementation of the strategy, and to report every two years on progress to the Health Assembly, through the Executive Board.
Eleventh plenary meeting, 23 May 2007 A60/VR/11
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