WHO at the 145th Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Assembly
The SRH/HRP Department is representing WHO at the 145th IPU Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda.
Side event
WHO will host a 2-hour parliamentary side event, aligned to priority areas (1) of collaboration established in the WHO – IPU MoU (2018) and the Assembly General Debate theme: Gender equality and gender-sensitive parliaments as drivers of change for a more resilient and peaceful world.
The event supports WHO’s parliamentary strategy aiming to bridge policy and science to improve political and financial commitments to health for all.
It takes place in the context of global preparations for the second United Nations High Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), to be held in New York,
USA, in September 2023, and aims to strengthen parliamentarians’ capacity to act on UHC, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) and gender equality.
Overview
IPU’s landmark resolution on UHC is a strong instrument to mobilize parliaments on ensuring that the right to public health and medical care is guaranteed for all in law and in practice, without discrimination. Such action is urgently needed: half
of the world’s population lacks access to essential health services, including SRH services.
Every person has sexual and reproductive healthcare needs, but comprehensive SRH services are often not included in national UHC strategies or health benefits packages. This is an issue of gender inequality, as well as health inequity. Girls and women,
adolescents, and those living in fragile contexts require specific SRH services; UHC fails when they cannot access them due to availability, affordability or stigma .
Excitingly, parliamentarians around the world are increasingly seeing this challenge as an opportunity. Gender equality is a pre-condition for realizing the right to health, and for all people to fully participate in society – and SRH sits at the
intersection of the Sustainable Development Goals on health (SDG3) and gender equality (SDG5).
There are a number of tools and approaches parliamentarians can use to ensure that as UHC becomes both a priority and a reality in every country, it is gender-responsive, and not gender-blind. By using disaggregated data to remove gender-based discrimination
in the implementation of UHC and ensuring that health-sector interventions protect sexual and reproductive health and rights, especially for adolescents, parliamentarians are unlocking gender equality within UHC and beyond.
Discussion
This event brings together parliamentarians and health experts in a listening and learning discussion asking:
- What are some concrete examples of successes and challenges for integrating SRH at the national level?
- What support is needed for parliamentarians in advocating for SRH within -UHC?
Outcomes
Dissemination of briefing note for parliamentarians on promoting SRHR within UHC Sensitization on the significance of SRHR for gender equality and use of WHO resources Documented examples of parliamentary action at country-level advancing UHC/SRHR.
Detailed agenda will be available soon.
For more information, please contact: Sarah Kessler – [email protected]
(1) Three priorities: i) universal health coverage (UHC); ii) global health security; iii) promoting health, especially for people living in vulnerable situations. Two additional priorities for WHO and parliamentarians have been identified: iv) sustainable
funding for WHO v) pandemic treaty
