Citation

Khosla R, Amin A, Allotey P, Barroso C, George A, Hardon A, Askew I. Sex. Reprod. Health Matters 2019; 27(1): e1676529.

Affiliation

Director, Human Reproduction Programme (HRP), World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/26410397.2019.1676529

PMID

31746277

Abstract

The Programme of Action (PoA) adopted in Cairo at the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 called for strengthening of the evidence base to guide policies and programming to deliver on commitments made. The POA emphasised that research should be guided by women’s needs and preferences, based on objectives of advancing gender equality and equity and the empowerment of women, and be carried out in accordance with internationally accepted legal, ethical, medical and scientific research standards.

The following years saw researchers and funding bodies revising their focus to meet the need for evidence that could inform implementation of the PoA. Notable progress includes establishment of dedicated research programmes and consortia on, e.g. violence against women (VAW) (DFID supported); female genital mutilation (Population Council led) and sexual behaviours (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine led). Changes in the way research funding and programming were managed occurred: for instance, within the UN co-sponsored Special Programme of Research on Human Reproduction (HRP), a Gender and Rights Advisory Panel was established in 1996 to guide sexual and reproductive health (SRH) research and inform development of WHO’s normative guidance.1 An inclusive, complex understanding of gender equality and human rights evolved, although this identified further future needs for clarity and knowledge. Virtually all research donors now require gender equality and rights be explicitly addressed in applications for funding. We examine how SRH research has evolved in addressing gender equality and human rights and propose future directions, using examples from the work of HRP to illustrate key arguments. ...

Language: en