DOH taut importance of strengthening gender mainstreaming
The Department of Health-Cordillera Administrative Region (DoH-CAR) stressed the importance of gender mainstreaming at the regular ‘Kapihan sa Baguio: Forum on National Health Events and Programs’ on March 23.
Gender Mainstreaming is a government approach that addresses the implications for people of different genders of any planned actions, including legislation, policies, and programs, in all areas and in all levels.
DOH Regional Program Development Officer Mac James Dacillo talked about the health sector’s overall vision for 2023 to 2028, where he disclosed that its main strategy is to strengthen the DOH’s commitment in the Department of Health in leading the formulation of at national policy on plans, capacity building, and health regulations.
Dacillo said the DOH-CAR is currently at Level 3 when it comes to gender mainstreaming with a total score of 60.13 signifying that government policy, enabling mechanism, and people are already set up and what that needs to be done is to ensure that the efforts for gender mainstreaming are in synchronized.
Policies under the DOH Gender mainstreaming entry point level 3 with a Gender Mainstreaming Evaluation Framework (GMEF) score of 13.13 where the DoH issued policies in support of gender mainstreaming and public health policies are set to address gender needs internally and externally.
In the people entry point under the DOH, the agency appointed people in strategic positions as members of Gender and Development (GAD), specifically in DOH- CAR there are 332 female health care workers and 181 male health care workers with 1 Gender and Development (GAD) specialist with (GMEF) score of 18.22, he revealed.
Dacillo said the enabling mechanism under gender mainstreaming by the DOH with a GMEF score of 15.67 promoted an important GAD mechanism to facilitate the institutionalization of sex-disaggregated data collection and analysis.
“The DOH provides competent support for activities, programs, and projects that promote Women’s Rights and support men’s and LGBTQ needs. In the 2023 GAD plan and budget mandated by law, all government agencies and instrumentalities are committed to having five percent of the general allocation specifically for gender and Development,” she said.
Dacillo added: “The DoH recorded 21.2 Million in 2023 for Gender and Development under which is the client-focused earmarked for activities, programs, and projects directed at the health system with 16.9 million earmarked for it, while 4.2 Million is reserved for activities, programs, and projects for the organization in strengthening its mechanism, its people and the like”.
She stressed that programs, activities, and projects under the DOH are committed to maintaining and improving the integration of a gender perspective in all its programs and provides continuous technical assistance that provides capacity building awareness activities to enable health facilities to be gender responsive and sensitive to the needs of all people. – Alpha May U Patacsil
