On August 17, 2006 at the XVI
International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada, EngenderHealth, an
international not-for-profit organization that works to improve sexual and
reproductive health care for women and men worldwide, leads a 90-minute
"Learning from Practice" Session from 10:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on Engaging
Men in Gender Equity and HIV/AIDS. The session explores how an emerging
collection of innovative HIV/AIDS programs are engaging men and boys with
evidence of demonstrated success. These programs confirm that men and boys
are willing to participate in discussions and take actions to promote
gender equality. Targeted, well-designed interventions can be highly
effective in changing traditional and rigid norms of masculinity that fuel
HIV infection. The session will be facilitated by Andrew Levack, Director
of EngenderHealth's Men As Partners(R) Program.
EngenderHealth's South Africa Men As Partners(R) Program is one of many
interventions that will be highlighted during the leadership session. This
innovative program has been selected as one of the 25 finalists for a
prestigious Conference Red Ribbon Award. The South Africa Men As Partners
Program's director, Mokgethi Tshabalala, will discuss its work at various
Conference sessions, including the satellite symposium entitled Gender,
Culture, and Male Sexual Identities: Implications for HIV/STI Prevention on
August 13.
Participants in Engaging Men in Gender Equity and HIV/AIDS represent
organizations at the forefront of this movement involved in a wide array of
research, interventions, and policy initiatives. Their shared viewpoint
focuses on engaging men and boys in meaningful ways to reduce gender
inequalities and violence against adults and children, and the promotion of
health and well-being of women, men, girls and boys.
EngenderHealth's Andrew Levack explains, "More and more men are
recognizing that they can play a positive and active role in HIV
prevention, care and support. In many parts of the world, men are joining
movements to challenge harmful gender norms that make both men and women
more vulnerable to HIV infection. In the end, this strategy does more than
address HIV, it helps to preserve human rights."
"The global HIV/AIDS pandemic has led to a growing awareness of the
need to engage men in promoting gender equality," Levack says. "It is
widely recognized that women's unequal social status places them at higher
risk for contracting HIV. All too often, gender roles condone men in
engaging in high risk sexual behavior, grant men the power to dictate the
terms of sex, and make it extremely difficult for women to control their
own sexual and reproductive health. Gender inequity in relationships can
also lead to sexual coercion and violence against women, issues that are
inextricably linked to HIV infection."
Levack continues, "Rigid norms of masculinity can also prevent men from
caring for and supporting people living with HIV or children orphaned due
to AIDS. In addition, gender norms about health can impede men from HIV
testing and decrease their likelihood to seek AIDS treatment."
EngenderHealth is a frontrunner in advancing the knowledge and practice for
making sexual and reproductive health services more accessible for men and
youth, and for integrating STI and HIV/AIDS services with other related
health services, such as family planning and maternal care.
In Engaging Men in Gender Equity and HIV/AIDS, participants discuss
their diverse field experiences, showcase innovative programs, highlight
the evidence base of their work, and review gender activist efforts to
address HIV/AIDS. In addition to facilitator Andrew Levack, Director of
EngenderHealth's Men As Partners(R) Program, speakers include: Abhijit Das,
Director, Centre for Health and Social Justice, India; Michael Onyango,
Director, Movement of Men against AIDS in Kenya; Mandla Majola, Treatment
Action Campaign, South Africa; Gary Barker, Executive Director, Instituto
Promundo, Brazil; and Beri Hull, International Community of Women Living
with HIV/AIDS, Washington, D.C.
EngenderHealth works to improve the health and well-being of people in
the poorest communities of the world by sharing expertise in sexual and
reproductive health and transforming the quality of health care. The
not-for-profit organization promotes gender equity, advocates for sound
practices and policies, and inspires people to assert their rights to
better, healthier lives. Working in partnership with local organizations,
EngenderHealth adapts its work in response to local needs. With more than
60 years of experience in the field of international sexual and
reproductive health, projects are supported in 40 countries through 19
offices worldwide.
EngenderHealth
engenderhealth/aids