WHO convened a meeting to discuss progress of the project “Institutionalizing and Strengthening the Capacity to Address Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in the Health Cluster and in WHO’s Emergency Work” on 25-26 September 2018 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The two day meeting brought together Health Cluster coordinators, technical specialists in reproductive health and mental health, and emergency health officers from five countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic.
The aim of the meeting was to review WHO’s progress in integrating responses to gender-based violence into health services in humanitarian settings, both through health sector coordination and WHO’s emergency work, and to develop action plans for the coming year.
Outcomes
- Participants developed action plans to build the capacity of health partners and health providers in responding to GBV.
- Participants identified opportunities to further institutionalize GBV responses within health sector strategies, including through inclusion in Humanitarian Needs Overviews and Humanitarian Response Plans.
- Participants shared learning across regions and countries on the challenges and opportunities to enhance service delivery for survivors of GBV.
Participants
18 WHO staff attended from the EMRO and AFRO regional offices, WHO Headquarters, and WHO country offices in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iraq, Nigeria and the Syrian Arab Republic.
As the GBV in emergencies project takes a collaborative approach, reaching across the WHO Health Emergencies Programme, the Department for Reproductive Health and Research, the regional offices for EMRO, AFRO and SEARO and six country offices, this meeting was an opportunity to solidify linkages between staff working in various technical operational capacities within WHO.