Papua New Guinea Health Gender Policy (2014)

The Policy builds on previous gender equality efforts by the PNG government including the National Gender Policy and Plan on HIV and AIDS; and gender sensitization activities with health professionals on the role of gender and sex in health.

Project Overview

GRAS

Challenges

Relevant Countries

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Description

The goal of the Papua New Guinea policy is:

… to integrate a gender perspective into the health sector, including legislation ,policies and programs at all levels of the health system. It … also aims to increase gender equity in health information and access to and use of service delivery in order toi mprove the health status of the population equitably.

The Policy builds on previous gender equality efforts by the PNG government including the National Gender Policy and Plan on HIV and AIDS, and gender sensitization activities with health professionals on the role of gender and sex in health. The objectives of the policy are:

  1. To integrate a gender perspective, including a focus on gender-based violence, in all National Department of Health (NDOH) programs, and implement gender sensitive activities.
  2. To promote gender equitable administrative policies and procedures of the NDOH and health service delivery.
  3. To promote equal access for men and women to and use of health informationand health services that are free from discrimination.
  4. To ensure NDoH lead and strengthen effective coordination and partnerships in health-related gender based violence related issues.

 

The objectives are designed to address a range of ongoing health challenges described in detail in the WPRO case study(6).

Gender Responsiveness Assessment Scale (GRAS) and the elements of good practice for gender mainstreaming (GM) used

Gender specific: The commitment to integrating a gender perspective, including a focus on gender-based violence and implement gender sensitive activities in all its program areas by the NDoH includes strategies to:

  • Increase awareness of the links between health, human rights (e.g. reproductive rights), and gender and awareness of the importance of gender-sensitive health programming for improved health outcomes among policy makers, providers and beneficiaries increased.
  • Enhance women’s decision making role in relation to health seeking practices; involving women and men in health seeking practices and in supporting their spouses and family members of either sex to seek care; improving gender integration in health services and right to health; and increasing women/girls and men/boys access to quality, gender-sensitive services, including for gender-based violence
  • Build capacity for gender mainstreaming. For example, the Family Health Service Branch working with the health sector stakeholders to ensure that programs implement gender-sensitive activities according to their program plans, reviewing and meeting with relevant programs to support this; and ensuring implementation and funding allocation from budgets to explicitly address identified gender issue.

 

The policy was finalized through broad-based consultation, drawing on expertise from various sectors and support from WHO and other partners.

As well as support to programmatic gender mainstreaming, the policy includes strategies for organizational/institutional gender mainstreaming. Forexample, developing and implementing human resource polices that are gender sensitive. Related activities include the NDoH Human Resources Branch to create a checklist or other mechanisms to review HR policies for gender equity; monitoring of new and existing policies for gender compliance; reviewing and assessing the gender balance in health service staffing at all levels; monitoring of related indicators; and developing gender equity, non-discrimination and sexual harassment indicators for the NDoH to be used at all levels.

Challenges

Implementation particularly given no additional funding or resources given the challenges identified including:

Relevant to countries who are interested in

Developing a gender-specific health plan as part of gender mainstreaming efforts. For example, it might be useful where countries want to ensure a gender-specific focus in an overall health services plan or condition specific plan such as noncommunicable diseases. It is also an example of a policy that focuses on both organizational and programmatic gender mainstreaming efforts.

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