A tool for strengthening gender-sensitive national HIV and Sexual and Reproductive Health monitoring and evaluation systems

INTRODUCTION

Gender inequality affects health outcomes

Gender inequality affects millions of women and girls around the world and is a key social determinant of health. Gender inequality shapes the way women and girls access health services as well as their attitudes towards health, highly increasing their health risks and vulnerability towards HIV and other Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) outcomes. In order to mitigate these disparities, more evidence-based programmes and policies that address SRH and HIV with a gender lens need to be created and implemented around the world.

What's in the toolkit?

This toolkit offers four modules that aim to improve the gender responsiveness of monitoring and evaluation systems for SRH and HIV, as a response to the evident gender disparities evidenced in these healthcare domains. And it was created for monitoring and evaluation and/or health information management officers involved with national or sub-national HIV or SRH M&E systems.

Now in its fourth decade, the global HIV epidemic continues to exert a disproportionate impact upon women and girls, especially in some regions of the world. Women account for 51% of those living with HIV worldwide, and 58% of HIV-positive people in sub-Saharan Africa, the most heavily affected region of the world.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

1. Ask the right questions

   Module One advises on “Asking the Right Questions” by using adapted key public health questions to help users understand gender-based health inequalities in SRH and HIV. It also explains the contributing factors and programmatic responses, outcomes, and impact through a gender lens.

2. Identify gender-sensitive indicators

   The toolkit provides three categories of gender-sensitive indicators: sex-specific, sex-disaggregated, and gender inequality indicators. Users are guided to identify current gender-sensitive indicators, identify gaps in monitoring, and add new gender-sensitive indicators.

3. Use gender analysis to better understand data

   Module 3 guides the gender analysis process so that users can understand HIV and SRH data, contextual data, and policy and legal influences.

4. Make M&E; systems gender-sensitive

   The toolkit provides a UNAIDS organising framework to portray the relationships between people, partnerships, planning, data, and decision making.

Access the full training toolkit here.