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Technical Areas
Working
on MDG 3
Gender, Ethnicity & Health Unit
more>>
Mrs. Mercedes Juarez
Unit Chief
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Gender & Equity Policy
In September 2005,
the 46th Directing Council of the Pan American Health
Organization approved
PAHO’s Gender Equality Policy, which contributes to the
achievement of gender equality in regards to health status and
development in the Americas. This includes equity in access to health care,
optimal health status for both men and women, equal participation for
both men and women in regards to their health, and equal distribution
of men and women in health development work (public and private
spheres).
Gender and
Health
In order to
achieve MDG3, PAHO has
compiled
Gender, Health and Development in the Americas- Basic Indicators 2005,
with
all the statistical information necessary to facilitate efforts to
obtain each target. Through statistical information, it assists in
decision-making processes, and prioritizes this information to the
needs of the most vulnerable groups.
Gender and
Violence
In 2003, PAHO
published
Violence against Women: the Health Sector Responds,
which addresses the issues of violence of women, and the collaboration
of various regional
levels (community, national, and international) to advocate awareness.
The Gender and Ethnicity Unit also works to explore the relationship
between sexual and domestic violence in relation to HIV/AIDS
Regional
Learning Programs
In collaboration
with the regional unit of the United Nations Fund for Population
activities (INFPA) and the World Bank Institute (WBI), PAHO has
designed a regional learning program for Latin America and the
Caribbean on reproductive health, gender equity, and health sector
reform. This aims to inform both individuals and institutions to
understand the reforms on equity and human rights.
Ethnicity.
Although ethnicity
is not explicitly discussed in MDG3, it is an underlying theme when
analyzing gender issues. The Ethnicity and Health Project was created
in response to
the
World Conference against Racism, in 2001. In collaboration with
various external and internal counterparts,
the Gender, Ethnicity, and Health Unit hope to reduce the health
inequalities that exist due to gender and ethic/racial issues.
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Regional Situation Analysis
Target 4 Over the last few
decades, Latin American countries have made strong progress in terms of
education coverage at the primary level and considerable headway at the
secondary and tertiary levels for girls and women. Much remains to be done
particularly in terms of economic, ethnic-racial and geographical
inequalities.
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MDG 3 |
PROMOTE GENDER
EQUALITY AND EMPOWER WOMEN |
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Health targets |
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Health
Indicators |
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Target 4 |
Eliminate gender disparity in primary and secondary education, preferably by 2005, and at all levels of education no later than 2015
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* target directly
related to health
It is thus clear that the
objectives set out in the Beijing Platform for Action, adopted in 1995, are
still relevant, especially with regard to the elimination of factors of
discrimination that prevent countries from attaining universal education
coverage and a 100% rate of primary-school completion among both girls and
boys, as well as equal access to secondary and tertiary education for young
people of both sexes.
Transformations in the
labor market and women’s educational achievements have not been matched by
changes in the distribution of family responsibilities. This places the
region on an equal footing with other regions where women have the primary
responsibility for unpaid household work and care-giving activities.
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