This is the consensus built up in a series of workshops in different regions of the Commonwealth on what is the most effective way of applying Gender Management System principles and methodology to the health sector. This manual should assist other countries in adapting mainstreaming.

Improvement in health remains a challenge for all. However, the problem is more acute for women. There is a disparity between women and men in their ability to gain access to health care appropriate to them. Furthermore, the low status of women in less developed countries has been identified as a major obstacle to development. If women are to gain better access to health services they must be given the opportunity to work in partnership with men at all levels of the health sector, including the highest levels of policymaking. Together they must ensure that women's specific needs are identified and addressed appropriately. This book is the result of consensus built up in a series of workshops in different regions of the Commonwealth on what is the most effective way of applying Gender Management System principles and methodology to the health sector. The differing contexts of financial, human and other resources explored in Gender Mainstreaming in the Health Sector will assist other countries in adapting mainstreaming to their own particular circumstances. This manual has been written to provide support and guidance to policymakers, planners, nongovernmental organisations, institutions and staff working in the health sector.

The report looks particularly at the impact of gender on occupational and environmental health; sexual and reproductive health; tuberculosis, malaria and other disease control programmes, including HIV and AIDS; and mental health. Special attention is also paid to gender and health reform and financing; quality of care; partnerships for health and capacity building and the importance of education for girls, adolescent girls and women. This forms the background for the outline of a framework for designing national health policies with an integrated gender perspective, which the report details.

This volume brings together leading researchers from a variety of disciplines to examine three areas: health disparities and inequity due to gender, the specific problems women face in meeting the highest attainable standards of health, and the policies and actions that can address them.

The tool described in this document is designed to support countries as they design and implement national health sector strategies in compliance with obligations and commitments. The tool focuses on practical options and poses critical questions for policy-makers to identify gaps and opportunities in the review or reform of health sector strategies as well as other sectoral initiatives. It is expected that using this tool will generate a national multi-stakeholder process and a cross-disciplinary dialogue to address human rights and gender equality in health sector activities.