Research and Analysis

Global stakeholders recognize that HIV/AIDS policies and programs must advance gender equality in order to effectively slow the spread of HIV. However, few concrete tools have been developed to guide policymakers and programmers in creating gender-responsive strategies at the national level. ICRW is collaborating with partners from civil society, government and donor organizations in Uganda and Cambodia to demonstrate how to develop national HIV/AIDS plans that address the unique needs and constraints of women and men.

In each country, ICRW is analyzing current national policies, strategies and programs to identify strengths and gaps in addressing gender-based vulnerabilities in the context of HIV and AIDS. The project team also is collaborating with a core group of government, donor and civil society representatives to form an advisory board. The board will use findings from the analysis to create recommendations and a plan for strengthening attention to gender in the national response to HIV and AIDS. The advisory board also will host a series of meetings to launch the action plan and garner support for its implementation.

The Men and Gender Equality Policy Project (MGEPP), coordinated by ICRW and Instituto Promundo, was a multiyear effort to build the evidence base on how to change public institutions and policies to better foster gender equality and to raise awareness among policymakers and program planners of the need to involve men in health, development and gender equality issues.

Project activities include:

• What Men Have to Do with It: Public Policies to Promote Gender Equality, a multicountry policy research and analysis
• International Men and Gender Equality Survey (IMAGES), a quantitative household survey carried out in 2009 with men and women in six countries (additional countries are implementing the survey in 2010 and thereafter)
• Men who Care, an in-depth, five country qualitative study of men involved in gender activisim and/or non-traditional caregiving roles such as day-care workers

Countries that participated in the project include Brazil, Chile, Croatia, India, Mexico, Rwanda, South Africa and Tanzania.

The project's multiple research components provided policymakers with practical strategies for engaging men in relevant policy areas, particularly in the areas of sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence, fatherhood, maternal and child health, and men's health needs.