Gender

  • November 19, 2020

    The future of global development: The power of girls

    Written by
    Patrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

    COVID-19 has highlighted inequalities worldwide and is showing us that our systems — and the progress we have celebrated — may not be as resilient as we thought. This month’s guest on A Deeper Look podcast, Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), incisively shines a light on the strengths and weaknesses in development work revealed by the pandemic.

    Dr. Kanem is one of the great leaders on the international stage who speaks with moral clarity and forcefulness on sensitive issues of sexual and reproductive health and women’s rights. She discusses the many ways she and UNFPA are meeting this year’s extraordinary challenges and shares her views on the importance of continued progress on gender equality in the face of the issues presented by the global pandemic. Dr. Kanem sees this moment in history as an unexpected opportunity to engage a new generation in finding ways to address systemic barriers to gender equality and social equity.

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  • November 19, 2020

    Eight actions to reduce gender-based violence during COVID-19

    Written by
    Kim Dixon, Senior Technical Advisor for Safeguarding, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Hub, FHI 360

    Since the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have reported alarming rates of violence, exploitation and other abuse, especially intimate partner violence among women and other marginalized groups. UN Women has warned that, as countries continue lockdowns and sheltering-at-home measures, a shadow pandemic of violence is growing. More than ever, the United Nation’s 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence is an important opportunity for international development organizations to commit to identifying ways to prevent and respond to violence, exploitation and other abuse in the communities where humanitarian and development projects are being implemented.

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  • November 5, 2020

    Ask girls what skills they want!

    Written by
    Sagri Singh, Senior Advisor, Gender Equality, Programme Division, UNICEF
    Andrea M. Bertone, Director, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion, FHI 360
    Natasha Harris-Harb, Youth Engagement Advisor, United Nations Girls Education Initiative

    As the world marks the 25th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration, the global community must take action and be bold in realizing our collective vision of a gender-equal world by intentionally investing in and advancing a girl-centered approach to development. We believe that girls should be front and center at driving solutions to the problems they face, thereby increasing the pipeline of women leaders, entrepreneurs and changemakers for tomorrow.

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  • July 6, 2020

    Put a ring on it: Four reasons to make the dapivirine ring an HIV prevention option for women and girls

    Written by
    Morgan Garcia, Senior Clinical Research Manager, FHI 360
    Neeraja Bhavaraju, Founding Partner, Afton Bloom

    While much progress has been made to end the HIV epidemic, not enough has been done to put the power of prevention directly in women’s hands. The dapivirine ring, a flexible silicone ring inserted monthly into the vagina, can change this. If approved by regulators, the ring would be the first discreet, long-acting HIV prevention tool available specifically for women. The ring would complement daily oral HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) as another biomedical tool in the fight against HIV.

    Recent evidence suggests significant acceptability of and demand for vaginal rings as a drug-delivery platform among women who used the dapivirine ring during clinical trials — and also among policymakers and other stakeholders in countries with a high HIV burden. To better understand these perspectives, the OPTIONS Consortium interviewed policymakers, implementers and civil society leaders in seven sub-Saharan African countries about possibilities for introduction and scale-up of the dapivirine ring. An analysis of the interviews shows widespread enthusiasm for the ring as part of comprehensive HIV prevention programming.

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  • May 27, 2020

    Finding Common Ground: Menstrual Health and Contraception

    Written by
    Kate H. Rademacher, Technical Advisor, Product Development and Introduction, FHI 360
    Amelia Mackenzie, Associate Scientist, Product Development and Introduction, FHI 360

    Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, basic health needs are largely unchanged, including the need to manage menstruation hygienically, safely and with dignity. As advocates around the world point out, periods don’t stop for pandemics.

    On Menstrual Hygiene Day, and every day, FHI 360 works around the world to ensure equitable access to quality menstrual products and appropriate sanitation facilities. We also engage government officials, teachers and community members to improve school-based education, raise community awareness and help fight period stigma. And, we must not forget an important group of people who menstruate: those who are using – or want to use – contraception.

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  • June 27, 2019

    A dispatch from Women Deliver: How the private sector is ensuring women are included in more inclusive growth

    Written by
    Nicole Goldin, Director and Lead Economist, Economic Participation, FHI 360

    This post was originally published on the Atlantic Council’s New Atlanticist blog. Reprinted with permission.

    Over the course of four days in June, more than 8,000 world leaders, influencers, practitioners, advocates, academics, activists and journalists gathered in Vancouver, Canada, to discuss how to accelerate progress for girls and women around the globe. The Women Deliver conference included important conversations about the future of work and women’s economic participation. Importantly, the debate demonstrated how the dialogue on the role of the private sector is shifting: from corporate responsibility to corporate interest and from social impact to bottom line impact — and increasingly both.

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  • August 2, 2018

    Two perspectives on the life-changing DREAMS partnership

    Written by
    Jennine Meyer, Associate Director of Communications, FHI 360

    The Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored and Safe women (DREAMS) partnership aspires to reduce HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries. These countries alone accounted for more than half of the HIV infections that occurred among adolescent girls and young women globally in 2015.

    DREAMS reaches beyond the health sector to address the direct and indirect factors that increase girls’ HIV risk, such as poverty, gender inequality, sexual violence and inadequate education. Interventions can include paying school fees, providing bicycles to girls who would otherwise walk long distances to school, supplying sanitary napkins for menstrual hygiene management and offering mentoring to help girls avoid early pregnancy, gender-based violence and discrimination. DREAMS is supported by the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Girl Effect, Johnson & Johnson, Gilead Sciences and ViiV Healthcare.

    Two young women who participate in DREAMS projects attended FHI 360’s 2018 Gender 360 Summit and discussed how DREAMS is making a difference in their lives. Here are their stories.

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  • March 22, 2018

    Three ways to help female teachers in conflict and crisis contexts

    Written by
    Paul Frisoli, Associate Director, Education in Conflict and Crisis, FHI 360
    Anne Smiley, Technical Advisor, Research in Education, FHI 360

    In education in conflict and crisis (EiCC) situations, community members often take on new roles to provide essential education and psychosocial support services to children. This is especially true for female teachers, who are expected to provide academic and nurturing care to their students while also caring for their families and coping with their own social, emotional and material needs. This is a tall order, and female teachers do not receive the support they need to be as effective — and engaged — as possible.

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  • March 7, 2018

    Women as leaders in conflict response

    Written by
    Patrick Fine, Chief Executive Officer, FHI 360

    The international community is not giving enough attention to the impact that humanitarian crises have on women and girls or to the role they play in emergency response. We need to. It’s time to examine how women are disproportionately affected by conflict and emergencies and how they fill the roles of first responders, caregivers and peacebuilders.

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  • February 15, 2018

    To achieve equity in education, we need the right data

    Written by
    Carina Omoeva, Director, Research and Evaluation, Global Education, and Education Policy and Data Center

    A version of this post originally appeared on FHI 360’s R&E Search for Evidence blog.

    As we work to realize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to education, it is the responsibility of every funding, implementing and research organization internationally to be asking questions about our own contributions to building equity in education. While a great amount of data gets produced in the course of education projects, only a fraction provides the detail that is needed to assess intervention impact on different equity dimensions. At the technical and implementation level, organizations need to capture and use the necessary evidence to understand and respond to inequity in education provision and outcomes.

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