The current economic crisis is forcing HIV/AIDS donors to do more with less. Taking on gender inequality in more than a token way to improve efficiency and effectiveness is a no brainer. The current U.S. administration has made women and girls a high priority so PEPFAR has all the political backing it needs, and multi-lateral donors like the Global Fund and the World Bank also have full support from their boards of directors. The powerful combination of budget squeeze and political commitment creates an opportunity for three of the largest HIV/AIDS donors to become the lead "gender bender" in global development; that is, to support development programs that transform the lives of women and girls, and thus the societies in which they live.
The new report, Moving Beyond Gender as Usual (Nandini Oomman is a co-author), finds that high-level policy commitments to address the risks, vulnerabilities and consequences of HIV/AIDS for women have yet to produce concrete and systematic action on the ground. It offers specific recommendations for how to do better. Some recommendations, such as jointly supporting comprehensive national gender analysis, are designed to foster greater collaboration across donors, country governments and other stakeholders. Others recommendations are donor-specific and focus on such issues as program design, accountability methods, and gender capacity.
[AIDSPortal summary]
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Author:
Nandini Oomman, Director, HIV/AIDS Monitor
Contributed On:
1 July 2009