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This reference manual, prepared by IGWG’s Gender Manual Task Force, focuses on the “how” of gender integration. Program managers and designers of new programs will find it to be an invaluable tool for integrating gender concerns into program design, implementation, and evaluation, thereby improving reproductive health through equitable gender relations.
Increasing attention to gender equity/equality goals in reproductive health (RH) and HIV/AIDS programs promotes respect for the fundamental needs and rights of individuals and communities. Gender integration makes programs and policies responsive to the social, economic, cultural, and political realities that constrain or enhance
reproductive health and satisfaction. By guiding organizations on how to integrate a gender equity/equality approach into RH/HIV/AIDS programs, this Manual will help program implementers
to:
- Improve the quality of RH/HIV/AIDS services;
- More effectively meet the needs of program participants;
- Make programs sustainable;
- Better inform and empower clients;
- Improve couple communications;
- Improve utilization of services;
- Broaden development impacts and enhance synergies across
sectors.
Concern for gender disparities and enhanced gender equity/
equality also contributes to specific RH/HIV outcomes, such as:
- Improved contraceptive prevalence;
- Reduced HIV transmission;
- Reduced fertility;
- Reduced violence against women;
- Decreased maternal mortality.