March 10 Event Will Celebrate International Women's Day
Gender Equality: Let's Get Real
WHAT: The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) invites members of the media to an event on Monday, March 10, marking International Women's Day at PAHO headquarters in Washington D.C. "Gender Equality: Let's Get Real" will feature presentations and discussion on the importance of gender issues in health and development work. A highlight of the event will be the presentation of winning projects from Bolivia and Mexico in PAHO's first "Best Practices Incorporating a Gender Equality Perspective in Health" contest. The event will close with a performance of music by women composers, and a light lunch will follow. The event is being cosponsored by the Inter-American Commission of Women of the Organization of American States (OAS).
WHEN: Monday, March 10, from 10 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. (participants will be provided a light lunch at the close of the event.)
WHERE: The headquarters of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) at 525 23rd Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036. The event will be held in Room A, 2nd floor. PAHO headquarters is located at the intersection of Virginia Ave., N.W., and 23rd St., N.W., four blocks from the Foggy Bottom metro station.
WHO: Featured speakers in the "Gender Equality: Let's Get Real" event include:
- Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, PAHO Director
- Dr. Rekha Mehra, expert on gender and development at the World Bank
- Dr. Marijke Velzeboer-Salcedo, PAHO expert on gender, ethnicity and health
- Ms. Carmen Lomellin, Executive Secretary of the Inter-American Commission of Women, OAS.
AWARD CEREMONY: Winners of PAHO's first "Best Practices Incorporating a Gender Equality Perspective in Health" contest will be honored following the speaker presentations. The winning projects, from Bolivia and Mexico, are:
- Constructing Bridges between the Community and Health Services with a Gender and Intercultural Approach," carried out by PROCOSI, a Bolivian NGO. PAHO Director Dr. Roses will present the award to Erika Silva de la Vega, project coordinator.
- Incorporation of a Gender Perspective in Priority Health Programs: Program for Prevention and Control of Diabetes Mellitus," a program carried out by Mexico's National Center for Gender Equity and Reproductive Health (Ministry of Health). The award will be presented by Dr. Roses to Dr. Aurora del Río Zolezzi, Assistant Director General for Gender Equity in Mexico's Ministry of Health.
International Women's Day is "a good day for reflection. To recall that despite all the progress made, discrimination and inequality are still widespread. To remember always the heavy burden that inequity places on the shoulders of millions of women and their families. Feeling legitimate pride over how far we have come should not obscure our vision of how far we need to go. On the contrary, it should serve as encouragement to continue working determinedly for equality and equity." —Dr. Mirta Roses Periago, PAHO Director
For more information please contact , PAHO, Public Information, 202-974-3459.