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




Return to Index
Return to fem-women2000 HOME