Subject: IWTC Women's GlobalNet #122
From: lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org>
Date: Tue, 20 Jul 1999 05:48:12 +0900
Seq: 3
Forwarded by lalamaziwa <lalamaziwa@jca.apc.org> ---------------- Original message follows ---------------- From: "International Women's Tribune Centre" <iwtc@igc.org> Date: Wed, 24 Mar 1999 11:04:33 -0800 (PST) Subject: IWTC GlobalNet 122 -- IWTC WOMEN'S GLOBALNET #122 Women's Initiatives and Activities Worldwide by Anne S. Walker March 24, 1999 REPORT FROM THE 43rd SESSION OF THE UN COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW) The CSW met in New York from March 1-15, 1999, with two Critical Areas of Concern from the Beijing Platform for Action -Health and Institutional Mechanisms for the Advancement of Women- on the agenda. Health: The CSW recommended that actions be taken by Governments, the United Nations system and civil society as appropriate, in the following areas: 1. Universal access, on a basis of equality between women and men, to quality, comprehensive and affordable health care and health services and information. Actions recommended include: %access to appropriate, affordable and quality health care and services %provision of social services related to health care; education, nutrition, food security, etc. %integration of sexual, reproductive and mental health services %education of youth on sexual and reproductive health issues %preventative and promotional health policies %support of women with disabilities %regular sport and recreational activities for all women and girls. 2. Sexual and reproductive health, taking into account the unacceptably high maternal, infant and child mortality. Actions recommended include: %reduction of severe and moderate malnutrition and iron deficiency anaemia %promotion of breastfeeding %promotion of female-controlled methods of family planning and male contraceptive methods %informed choices to prevent unwanted pregnancies %an end to female genital mutilation and other harmful practices; early marriages, forced marriages etc. 3. HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted diseases and other infectious diseases. Actions recommended include: %public education and advocacy and an expansion of prevention measures %enactment of laws to counteract stigmatization and social exclusion % preventative and therapeutic measures against tuberculosis, malaria, etc. 4. Mental health and substance abuse. Actions recommended include: %gender-sensitive and age-sensitive mental health services and counselling %preventive and remedial health services %research and dissemination of information on gender differences %prevention programmes aimed at reducing tobacco and other drug use %equitable sharing of household and family responsibilities. 5. Occupational and environmental health. Actions recommended include: %effective environmental and occupational health policies for gender-sensitive work environments %special care for women workers who are pregnant, post-partum, breast-feeding, etc. %information provided to workers about environmental health risks. 6. Policy development, research, training and evaluation. Actions recommended include: %comprehensive interdisciplinary and collaborative research agenda on women's health %concrete accountability mechanisms at the national level for reporting %collection, use and dissemination of data disaggregated by sex and age %research on the interrelationship between poverty, ageing and gender %gender perspective in the health sector at all levels %mainstreaming gender into the curricula and training of health care and service providers %work to stop unnecessary medicalization of women's health conditions. 7. Health sector reform and development. Actions recommended include: %ensuring that health sector reform and development efforts promote women's health %integration of process of gender analysis in health sector and undertaking of gender impact assessments %strategies to seek reduction of occupational concentration by gender to eliminate gender-based pay inequality, to ensure high-quality working conditions in the health work force, and to provide appropriate skills training and development 8. International cooperation. Actions recommended include: %strong political commitment to implement strengthened international cooperation for development and to mobilize domestic and international finance resources for development and provision of health services for women %progress in regard to external debt relief to help generate resources %assistance to developing countries to ensure the provision of basic social services, including health care services for women %minimization of negative impacts and maximization of benefits of globalization and interdependence, to health care services in developing countries %encouragement of sound macroeconomic policies and institutions to support provision of health care services. Institutional Mechanisms: The CSW recommended: A. That actions be taken by Governments to: %provide strong political commitment %ensure national machineries are placed at the highest level of governments %invest institutional mechanisms with authority to fulfill mandated roles and responsibilities %provide adequate and sustainable financial and human resources %ensure mainstreaming of gender perspective is understood, institutionalized and implemented %integrate gender perspective in all government activities %senior management to take responsibility for fulfilling gender equality commitments %promote/ensure establishment of effective focal points %encourage the creation and/or strengthening of institutional mechanisms %promote capacity-building %promote accountability and transparency %provide assistance in formulating performance indicators %improve gathering/disaggregation of data and development of statistics and indicators in all areas of the Beijing Platform for Action %give visibility to relationship between remunerated and unremunerated work %recognize/ acknowledge unremunerated work by women %strengthen relations among civil society %ensure needs/rights/interests of women are identified/mainstreamed into policy and programme development %respect involvement of NGOs in assisting governments in implementation of commitments %coordinate/consult NGOs in national/international activities %ensure transparency through open and participatory dialogue %support organizations/institutions to use research results to influence transformation of policies and programmes %create clear anti-discrimination regulations %initiate gender equality legislation %involve parliaments/judiciary to monitor progress in gender mainstreaming. B. That actions be taken by National Machineries and other Institutional Mechanisms to: %design, promote, execute, monitor, evaluate, etc. support for policies that promote advancement of women %act as catalysts for gender mainstreaming in policies and programmes %assist government to take specific actions in gathering/disaggregation of data %promote research/dissemination of research findings/information on women and gender equality %disseminate gender relevant data/other information on contribution of women to society. C. That actions be taken by the international community, including the UN System to: %implement the ECOSOC agreed conclusions (1997/2) %implement the revised SWMTP (1996-2001) %ensure managers are held accountable for implementing the strategic plan of action for improvement of the status of women in the Secretariat (1995-2000) %request ACC IACWGE to continue its work to implement the Beijing Platform for Action and to promote integration of gender perspective in follow-up to UN conferences/ summits %support implementation of Beijing Platform for Action including through support for UNIFEM and INSTRAW %support governments in efforts to strengthen national mechanisms through ODA %encourage multilateral, bilateral, donor and development agencies to strengthen national machineries %encourage governments and national machineries to consult civil society when providing information on gender and women's issues to international bodies %document/publish good practices %develop/disseminate gender disaggregated data and qualitative performance indicators %encourage the availability of methodology on collection and analysis of gender disaggregated data measurement by multilateral development institutions, etc. %DAW to prepare/circulate questionnaire to elaborate systematic and comprehensive approach to information on unremunerated work %DAW to expand Directory of National Machineries %ensure ongoing training on gender issues %develop policies to recruit technical staff with expertise in gender equality issues %create/strengthen collaborative links with other agencies %recognize civil society as source of support and legitimacy %establish partnerships %engage the media in dialogue aimed at reexamining gender stereotypes %create/strengthen collaborative relationships with the private sector. Glossary of Terms. %HIV/AIDS = Human Immunodeficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. %ECOSOC= Economic and Social Council of the UN. % SWMTP=System-Wide Medium- Term Plan. ACC IACWGE=Administrative Committee on Coordina- tion Inter-Agency Committee on Women and Gender Equality %UNIFEM= UN Development Fund for Women %INSTRAW-UN Institute for the Advancement of Women %ODA= Overseas Development Assistance %DAW= UN Division for the Advancement of Women. IWTC Women's GlobalNet is produced by: International Women's Tribune Centre 777 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017 Tel: (1-212) 687-8633 Fax: (1-212) 661-2704 e-mail: iwtc@igc.apc.org