Uganda Ministry of Health Fosters Gender Equality in the Health Workforce
Last month, the Uganda Capacity Program and the Ministry of Health conducted a workshop in Jinja, Uganda about the importance of gender equality in human resources policy and planning as well as human resources management.
The workshop also included a presentation about the forthcoming Gender Discrimination and Inequality Analysis, which will be used to guide the Ministry of Health in acting on the priorities outlined in Uganda’s Health Sector and Strategic Investment Plan, Gender Policy, and 2006 Employment Act.
Constance Newman, IntraHealth International’s senior team leader, gender equality for health, facilitated the workshop in collaboration with Uganda Capacity Program staff Dr. Grace Namaganda, Dr. Charles Matsiko, Dr. Vincent Oketcho, and Allan Agaba.
In addition to the Ministry of Health, representatives from the Ministry of Public Service and Ministry of Gender, Labor, and Social Development also participated along with district health managers.
This work is aimed at fostering gender equality in the health workforce so that women and men have an equal chance of entering the workforce and can develop the needed skills, be paid fairly and treated equally, and advance their careers.
It is part of a four-country initiative to raise human resources leaders’ and managers’ awareness of gender discrimination in the health workforce, which includes pregnancy and family responsibility discrimination, occupational segregation, and sexual harassment. Results of the Gender Discrimination and Inequality Analysis will be used to improve the workplace climate in Ugandan health facilities.
One of the participants summarized the workshop as “I was blind but now I can see.”
The Uganda Capacity Program, an IntraHealth International-led, USAID-funded project, builds the capacity of Ugandan institutions to plan for the health workforce, focus on health workers’ education and training, and strengthen health workforce management and support of health workers. It is an associate award of the Capacity Project, the predecessor to CapacityPlus.
Related items:
Photo by Grace Namaganda. (Gender workshop participants)
FEATURED RESOURCES
