Health Audit-5 Dec.pmd

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• Publié par: Orgoi
• Nombre de lectures: 23
• Langue: English

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Introduction 73
GENDER AUDIT
MINISTRY OF HEALTH
Ministry for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation,
Republic of the Fiji Islands
P.O. Box 14068 Suva, F
Funded by the Asian Development Bank,
Manila, Philippines
November 2003
Health Audit-5 Dec.pmd 73 04/12/03, 10:38 AMThis report is the result of a technical assistance project (TA No. 3360-FIJ) from the
Asian Development Bank, carried out by a team of consultants from Agriteam Canada
Consulting Ltd.
USP Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
Gender audit. Ministry of Health - Suva, Fiji : Ministry for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty
Alleviation, 2003.
p. : ill. ; 21 cm.
ISBN 982-9007-08-1
1. Women in development - Fiji 2. Women - Government policy - Fiji 3. Sex role -
Government policy - Fiji 5. Fiji. Ministry of Health I. Fiji. Ministry for Women, Social Welfare &
Poverty Alleviation II. Fiji. Ministry for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation
HQ1240.5.F5G464 2003 305.231099611
Copies of this Publication may be obtained from
Ministry for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation,
P.O. Box 14068 Suva, Fiji Islands
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Web site: http://women.fiji.gov.fj
and
Asian Development Bank
P.O. Box 789 0980 Manila, Philippines
Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [e-mail]
Web sites: http://www.adb.org/publications.adb.org/gender
Health Audit-5 Dec.pmd 74 04/12/03, 10:38 AMiii
Foreword
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n 1998, the Ministry for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation launched the Women’sIPlan of Action (1999–2008). The five main areas of focus are mainstreaming women and
gender concerns, women and the law, microenterprise development, shared decision making,
and violence against women and children.
These are considered the priorities that the Fiji Islands must address if we are to improve
the status of women in our country.
Government’s commitment to gender equality is further reinforced in its endorsement of
the Millenium Development Goals, the overarching objectives of which are aimed at eradicating
absolute poverty and hunger by 2015. The third of the eight goals clearly states that promoting
gender equality and empowering women are critical if governments are to achieve sustainable
development and eliminate the root causes of poverty. There is growing and compelling
evidence that women not only bear the brunt of poverty but also that their empowerment is
critically important for eliminating poverty.
In stating our commitment to gender equity, we recognize that this must be accompanied
by practical, realistic, and achievable strategies. One such strategy is the focus on gender
mainstreaming as articulated in the Beijing Platform for Action:
…Governments and other actors should promote an active and visible policy of
mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programs, so that before decisions
are made, an analysis is made of the effects on women and men, respectively.
The Ministry for Women supports this strategy and has established a Task Force on
Gender Mainstreaming that is chaired by the Ministry of Finance and National Planning. The
Task Force is mandated to implement gender mainstreaming and to support and strengthen
gender responsiveness in all government processes.
This gender audit is an outcome of an Asian Development Bank-funded technical assis-
tance (TA No. 3360-FIJ) for the Women’s Plan of Action, carried out during November 2001–
January 2003 and designed to support the gender mainstreaming strategy. The project assisted
the Ministry and the Task Force on Gender Mainstreaming to begin to assess and analyze
systematically national and sectoral policies/programs for their responsiveness to gender, based
on the Women’s Plan of Action. The approach was piloted in two ministries with the expectation
of replicability in other government organizations. This report provides a gender audit of the
Ministry of Health. A companion report covers the Ministry of Agriculture, Sugar and Land
Settlement.
Mr. Rishi Ram
Permanent Secretary
Ministry for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation
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Contents
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FOREWORD ..................................................................................................................... iii
ABBREVIATIONS ............................................................................................................ vi
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. vii
INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 1
Background ................................................................................................................. 1
Rationale and Objectives .......................................................................................... 2
Methodology............................................................................................................... 4
OVERVIEW OF GENDER ISSUES AND ELEMENTS OF
THE ANALYTICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................ 7
Social and Gender-related Determinants of Health ............................................. 7
Links Between Health Outcomes and Gender Equality .................................... 10
Summary ................................................................................................................... 20
GENDER AUDIT OF THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH ............................................... 21
Organizational Analysis .......................................................................................... 25
Analysis of the Policy Development Process ....................................................... 32
ANALYSIS OF KEY RESULT AREAS IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH ............. 37
CASE STUDY: ANALYSIS OF THE HIV/AIDS POLICY, USING THE
GENDER ASSESSMENT PATHWAY (GAP) TOOL ............................................... 49
STRATEGIC PLAN FOR INSTITUTIONALIZING GENDER
MAINSTREAMING IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH ....................................... 57
BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 67
APPENDIXES
Appendix 1: Ministry of Health Core Team Members ........................................ 71
Appendix 2: Members of the Agriteam Canada Consulting Team .................... 72
Health Audit-5 Dec.pmd 77 04/12/03, 10:38 AMvi GENDER AUDIT – MINISTRY OF HEALTH
Abbreviations
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ADB Asian Development Bank
GAP gender assessment pathway
GDP gross domestic product
GFP Gender Focal Point
GTF Gender Task Force
HSR health sector reform
KRA key result area
MoH Ministry of Health
MoWy for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation
NACA National Advisory Committee on AIDS
SIDA Swedish International Development Agency
SPIGM Strategic Plan for Institutionalizing Gender Mainstreaming
STI sexually transmitted infection
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
WPA Women’s Plan of Action
Health Audit-5 Dec.pmd 78 04/12/03, 10:38 AMExecutive Summary vii
Executive Summary
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he goal of the gender audit was to contribute to strengthening government processesTby providing an assessment of any differential impact on males and females because
of policies, programs, organizational structures, and processes within the Ministry of
Health (MoH) and to identify where strategic initiatives could be implemented to build
commitment to and strengthen capacities for gender mainstreaming. The audit was a pilot
activity, intended to be replicated in other ministries, and the process assisted the Ministry
for Women, Social Welfare & Poverty Alleviation to develop appropriate support and guid-
ance for further gender mainstreaming within the Government.
The study team assessed the presence and level of various factors that facilitate gender
mainstreaming, such as political will and leadership, an appropriate policy framework to
support a gender mainstreaming approach, and staff with the knowledge and skills to
carry out a gender analysis and gender-responsive planning and implementation.
In collaboration with a Core Team drawn from staff of the ministry, the study team
conducted surveys/interviews with ministry staff; reviewed relevant documents; verified
initial findings through follow-up interviews, focus-group sessions, and field visits;
selected one policy area as a case study in order to assess the design and implementation
of a policy from center to field level; and developed recommendations for entry points for
gender mainstreaming and provided suggested strategies for incorporating gender
mainstreaming into key result areas.
The findings of the draft gender audit were presented to senior members of the
ministry to ensure that the findings were clearly understood and accepted. The written
and verbal responses from the ministry were incorporated into the final gender audit.
The gender audit for the MoH assessed gender issues in Fiji’s health sector compared
to the situation internationally in two ma