Please find below the contribution from Jane from Nigeria.

Thank you for your contribution!

First, try to get the gender needs assessment. Identify gender sensitive activists and use them for program planning and implementation.

Develop the capacity of women through equal opportunity to Education, Job Opportunity/Employment. There is a saying that goes: If you are poor, you are disadvantage, if you are poor and a woman, you are doubly disadvantaged. Again most laws and customs support women discrimination, hence the need for women empowerment. Initiating, establishing and funding skills acquisition programs for women. Addressing Heritage issues, give attention to community participation/ advocacy that carry gender messages.

Gender-aware research for development is a valuable tool to identify ways in which women and men are affected by processes of farm-level technological change and also ways in which gender biases in institutions, affect the implementation and outcome of agricultural reform policies.

• The findings shed light on the linkages between gender, poverty and technology demand-responsiveness. Better sustained use of agricultural technological packages are significantly associated with a better gender and poverty sensitivity in the demand-responsiveness of projects, user influence and control over project implementation, sharing of research operational work and benefits during operation, and user (men, women) satisfaction. The current supply- driven agenda of innovations cannot effectively respond to the complex social and environmental realities of vulnerable rural groups. 

• Development of agricultural technologies and dissemination are better sustained when research projects offer informed choices to both men and women, poor and better off, thus empowering them to influence the process of R4D. 

• The use of multi-method approaches is particularly important for the assessment of variables such as gender sensitive participation, resource control and the extent to which institutions employ gender sensitive planning, policy, management, organization and implementation methods.

What could the Global Fund do to better support gender-sensitive program planning and implementation at the country level?

• The Round 8 proposal guidelines and application forms include new gender aspects. How could the Round 9 guidelines and forms be further improved in this regard?
• Do the mechanisms of the Global Fund¡¦s business model (e.g. the Board, TRP, TERG, and the Secretariat) facilitate and encourage a gender sensitive approach?
• What other mechanisms could the Global Fund employ to catalyze gender responsiveness at the country level, ensuring that the needs of w omen and girls and men and boys are met?

WOMEN AND GIRLS WHERE?

Gender sensitive from whom?

Gender responsiveness for what?

Who are the deciders?

Only these make any decision more meaningful.

Suppose Global fund Board,  TRP, TERG, and the Secretariat have more qualified and experienced people – women etc. will they be able to provide things that are Gender sensitive and Gender responsiveness?

 

The question of gender comes where there is weakness in women, where there are no powers or no possibilities to use power or where they are not able to exert equality. Then who can define and facilitate gender-sensitive program planning and implementation?

 

Definitely, there can be no uniform format nor there be a single agenda to ensure equality and gender consciousness. As in the HIV /Gender policy statements drafted in India, there need to be continuous questioning and assessment on the system and its operations in respect of gender.

 

1.     Identification of relevant gender information, especially socio-economic information in such a way as to be included in programming planning discussions

2.     Disaggregating of background data/situation analyses by age, sex and ethnic origin

3.    Consultation of  gender specialists and representatives of women at all levels throughout the process

   

Project formulation, implementation, and evaluation

1.   Personnel belonging to programs informing themselves substantively of the gender dimensions of the HIV challenge to be solved

2.    Consultation of women equally with men during the formulation process, especially female beneficiaries

3.    Indication of clear proportion of financial resources allocated to the attainment to empower young girls, women and sexual minorities

4.   Ensuring  gender balance in project training 

5.    Reflection of  gender issues in  Programme and Project Evaluation Reports 

6.   Monitoring by the personnel on project disbursements to ensure distribution of inputs to ensure equality of outcome for both women and men beneficiaries

7.    A briefing to evaluation mission members on relevant gender issues with sufficient document support 

8.    Ensuring that the review reflects  gender-related omissions and successes in the project/programme

9.     Questioning and ascertaining whether the project personnel understand and apply process indicators of success 

2.      Providing  training or capacity building to meet these needs

3.      Having  relevant documentation and training materials – distributing them at every level

4.      Providing and presenting gender equality information systematically at meetings to generate productive discussion of gender issues and learning by the stakeholders

Special events - workshops, seminars, press conferences, launchings, receptions, etc

1.      Gender equality priorities in the selection of topics and agendas for special events

2.      A  mechanism in place to ensure that women and men participate equally in special events as speakers, chairpersons, decision-makers etc. and are equally consulted during preparations and follow-up

Representation of gender equality activities in the public arena, especially in the local media

1.      Contacts with members of the local press corps who are sympathetic to gender equality

2.      A briefing note or brochure on the gender mainstreaming priorities and activities to the press

 

Although it's April 30, I'd still like to throw out a general question. All of the contributions to this Forum have been excellent thus far and have hit upon the most urgent issues. Now I'd like to add a specific one: I work in Southeast Asia, and one of my research partners has shown the correlation between gender violence and HIV incidence. It's something we all take for granted but without specifically bringing it to the attention of policy stakeholders. Women who are in violent relationships have a higher incidence of HIV. This occurs for many of the more general reasons that all the contributors have named: inability to choose, economic vulnerability, inability to negotiate for safer sex; but also, as this study proved, because women currently in violent relationships tend to be women who were abused as girls. Gender is not a priority in some countries. In order to make it so, focussing on specifics related to gender and HIV, such as health, morbidity and lost productivity, is one strategy to make the point. What are your views on partner violence and their relation to other gendered health risks? I'd love to hear from everybody.

I just put these comments to have our further understanding on the issues of gender discrimination and how better we can address those in the coming days in relation with HIV, TB and Malaria by the GF, although would defiantly have greater impact in the country beyond the specific disease only.

The GF, may, facilitate addressing gender issues in two ways- one during project evaluation/approval by the TRP and another one is during project assessment, based on qualitative and quantitative indicator set by the project, at the end of 2^nd year and that may be one of the criteria based on what the project will get extension for next three years or not (along with other criteria set by the GF). GF may put more importance on quantitative indicators apart from only the figures as they have local fund agents; span of work of the LFA can easily be increased and improved as well.

Now, the question is how to do all these?

Firstly, the GF gender facts sheet may be improvised to encourage the CCM to put certain issues to address the root cause of gender discrimination. There can be guidelines on how to address the root cause and what could be the possible ways. And finally, the TRP may use a “gender-score’ sheet to measure these. Nevertheless, GF may post the score sheet along with the fact sheet open to all.

Secondly, the GF can use “gender-score’ sheet (tailored as per project appraisal) for auditing the on going project before extension to the second phase. And, here also more attention on the qualitative issues along with figures.

 Historic endeavor has succeeded in bolstering many countries’ ability to respond to the health care needs of their people. But as with any first, much can be improved. Any effort to increase civil society participation in an international institution as complex, wide-reaching and well

Hello, I have read some of the present documents, and am interested in finding out whether gender can be viewed on a more basic level other than unchangably seen as male or female ... and not only as such when it pertains to sexual and gender minorities?

Organization Q, Sarajevo, BiH, is currently working on the outreach activities with MSM population in the Federation of BiH. However, we also work with the whole LGBTIQ population in the country, and have included everyone in our activities. The problem that we have in reporting is that we do not assume nor do we divide people only in two sexes and purely on their appearance.

Once we ask people how they identify in regards to sex and/or gender, sometimes we get various answers and sometimes we do not get the same answer for both sex and gender in the same line. Given, that our organization works on the issues of construction and deconstruction of sex and gender, as well as views sex and gender as identites, our approach is slightly different and often very different from the systems of other organizations including Global Fund in regards to reporting.

Perhaps what can be done in regards to gender for Round 9 is for the definition of gender to change from male/female to a personal sense/identification which might be in line with social division of male/female, might deny it or transgress it in some way. Also, people have to be allowed to identify themselves in regards to this and not be identified by others based on pure assumption.

Indicators have to be created in order to allow other categories to show up. Otherwise, I am left with the following issues/problems: 

• What can be done so that the reporting of indicators is based on how people identify and not how the organizations has divided sex for them?
• What can be done so that people in the field ask questions regarding sex and gender so that sex/gender is not assumed?
• What can be done for other individuals/identities within sexual/gender minorities to be included besides the MSM population?

We have done a lot of research and have made our studies public, so in the case we can be of assistance regarding this let me know or just visit our web page at www.***.ba/udruzenje.htm.