2020•05•11     Kuala Lumpur

11 May 2020

by Lavanya Vijayasingham

The need for gender-responsive programming that is designed to manoeuvre and transform the socio-structural dynamics that contribute to unequal access to health resources, has received a lot of academic attention in global health. However, there is comparatively lesser assessments of the scope, scale and ways these activities are implemented, tracked and financed particularly in LMIC settings, and by multilateral or private donor funding.

The objective of this webinar, co-convened by UNDP and UNU-IIGH, was to present findings and recommendations from a gender scan of UNDP’s current portfolio of programmes funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria (Global Fund).  Both the UNDP and the Global Fund emphasise the need for a gender-responsive approach in grant-making and health programming. In 2019, UNU-IIGH was commissioned by UNDP to conduct this review, with an aim to:

• identify gaps in the response,
• capture key implementation successes and challenges,
• recommend strategies and interventions that will help UNDP in its support to national entities and implementing partners to prioritise gender-responsive programs

Methodologically, this involved:

• desk review and analysis of key documents from 30 grants, based on UNU-IIGH’s 4I assessment framework (issues, intervention in included population, investments and implementation), and
• a deeper dive into five countries through in-depth case studies in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan, Chad, Cuba and Djibouti.

The webinar was hosted by Dr Fatima Bashir and Dr Maisoon el-Bukhari of UNDP’s Global Fund Partnership & Health Programme Implementation Support Team within the Health and Development Group, of UNDP’s Bureau for Policy and Programme Support. Dr Michelle Remme, the research lead at UNU-IIGH, presented findings and recommendations from UNU-IIGH’s analysis (post-doctoral fellows- Dr Lavanya Vijayasingham, Dr George Atiim (case studies), and Dr Fatima Ghani (case study), and consultants, Ms Jill Gay -What Works for Women and Girls, and Dr Kui Muraya -KEMRI). Representatives from UNDP country offices that participated in the case country deep dive also shared their reflections on the feasibility of implementing the recommendations proposed by UNU-IIGH.

This webinar was targeted towards UNDP country teams that were invited to participate ahead of finalising grant design and documentation for the upcoming Global Fund funding cycle.

A full report of the analysis, and the five country case studies will be available soon.