Gender and Polio Eradication

OLUWASEUN AKINYEMI: Gender and polio eradication. In the video you are about to watch on gender and polio eradication, I’d like you to think about how gender affect the polio eradication program and how the polio educational program may improve gender issues. Please post this presentation and go on the video on containing polio viruses safely and securely available on the link on your screen. So the question from the video is how does gender affect immunization at the individual household and community levels? Why is gender mainstreaming important in programs, such as, polio eradication. What makes addressing gender challenging? What strategies can programs use to overcome these challenges?

The purpose of this discussion is to emphasize the concept of gender and gender mainstreaming, particularly in polio eradication. What is gender, you may ask. This [? categorizes ?] that differentiate masculinity and femininity. These [? categorizes ?] may include biological, sex, culture gender roles and gender identity. So what is gender analysis? Again, analysis identifies disparities, examines why such disparities exist, and looks at how these disparities could be addressed. Whereas, gender mainstreaming refers to a set of strategies and approaches and technical processes adopted to achieve the goal of gender equality. The Global Polio Eradication Initiative adds a large female work force around the world.

Currently, over half of the front workforce in Nigeria and about 90% of the workforce in Afghanistan are female. The GPEI has also worked hard to ensure that girls and boys are equally reached though the vaccination campaign. Coverage is carefully monitored to ensure that this is [? happening ?] in many contexts. The reason why women or girls may be less involved or less likely to be reached by the GPEI services or work opportunities are complex. Addressing inequities requires addressing social determinants of health. In conclusion, there cannot be social justice without equity because equity is the vehicle for social justice. And also, socioeconomic factors are the greatest contributors to health status.

Finally, universal health care and goals, such as polio eradication, lie in large part on addressing inequities. So without addressing these inequities, we cannot achieve universal health coverage, as well as, the sustainable development goals.