Integrating Gender into HIV/AIDS Programmes in the Health Sector: Tool to Improve Responsiveness to Women's Needs

Created by the World Health Organization (WHO)'s Department of Gender, Women and Health (GWH), this operational tool is designed to raise awareness of how gender inequalities affect women's access to and experience of HIV/AIDS programmes and services. Designed especially for programme managers and health-care providers, it offers practical actions on how to address or integrate gender into specific types of HIV/AIDS programmes and services. WHO contends that HIV programmes that take into consideration the social, economic, cultural and political realities of clients better inform and empower clients, improve quality of care and access to and use of services, and enhance health equity.

In addition to describing basic steps in gender-responsive programming, which can be applied to all HIV/AIDS programmes, the tool suggests practical actions to address key gender issues in 4 service delivery areas:

1. HIV testing and counselling
2. Prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT)
3. HIV/AIDS treatment and care
4. Home-based care and support for people living with HIV

For each type of programme or service delivery area, the tool identifies key issues related to gender inequalities and suggests practical actions to address these in terms of the role and functions of the programme manager or service provider. The tool also provides examples of gender-responsive interventions from the field, and resources such as: counselling role plays for risk reduction and HIV treatment adherence; examples of gender-sensitive communication messages; and protocols for addressing the risk of violence among women as a result of HIV status disclosure.

The tool was field-tested in 5 countries: Belize, Honduras, Nicaragua, Sudan, and the United Republic of Tanzania. It was adapted and translated into Kiswahili and used to train HIV/AIDS programme managers and service providers in 2 regions of Tanzania (Mbeya and Lindi). In addition to providing such personnel with strategies for incorporating gender-responsive actions into their daily work, the tool may be used to:

• Integrate gender into pre-service and/or in-service basic HIV/AIDS training curricula.
• Engender relevant national HIV/AIDS strategies, frameworks, guidelines, and operational plans.
• Integrate gender-responsive actions into district health and HIV/AIDS plans.