Promoting Gender Equality through Health

With USAID project support, young women in the Oromiya Region of southern Ethiopia attend school with the privacy & security of latrines, a nearby supply of safe drinking water and membership in the school health club where they learn about hand washing.

Lifewater International/David Uttley

Gender inequality continues to have a negative impact on many health outcomes. Gender-­related power imbalances contribute to excess female mortality across the life cycle, and harmful gender norms affect men and boys by encouraging risk-­taking and limiting health-­seeking behaviors. Although the reproductive health of women and girls has improved, some 222 million women worldwide would like to avoid pregnancy but are not using a modern method of contraception. Enabling young women to avoid early pregnancy allows many to attend school longer, and as fertility falls, more women are able to join the labor force. Unequal gender norms also contribute to men’s and women’s vulnerability to HIV and prevent them from seeking HIV testing, counseling, and treatment, as well as disclosing their HIV status. Today, women and girls make up almost half of the infected population aged 15 to 49 worldwide; in sub­-Saharan Africa, the rate is close to 60 percent. The persistence of gender-­based violence contributes to women’s and girls’ increased risk and vulnerability.

USAID’s half a century of experience has shown that health programs that address gender barriers improve development outcomes overall. When women are educated and can earn and control income, infant mortality declines, child health and nutrition improve, agricultural produc­tivity rises, population growth slows, economies expand, and cy­cles of poverty are broken. Since 1965, USAID has provided women and couples with voluntary family planning programs and services. Maternal and child health programming became an important focus in the early 1980s, and HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment programs have been adjusted to focus on women’s unique vulnerabilities to infection. Other health programs that address women’s needs include nutrition, malaria, and pandemic disease programs.

Under the Global Health Initiative (GHI), the United States is working to ensure partner countries are better positioned with the resources they need to improve health outcomes through strengthened health systems and integrated services, with a particular focus on improving the health of women and girls. The Agency’s programs have achieved positive results and set the global standard for health care delivery to women.  

In 2012, USAID launched a new gender policy [PDF, 2.7MB] to ensure that the Agency uses more effective, evidence-based investments in gender equality and female empowerment and incorporates these efforts into its core development programming.  

Resources

• Visit the Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment section. 
• Read the PEPFAR Fact Sheet: Addressing Gender and HIV/AIDS.