| Short Summary | | Title | Engendering the Bureaucracy? Challenges and Opportunities for Mainstreaming Gender in Ministries of Health under Sector-wide Approaches | | Author | Theobald, S., Tolhurst, R., Elsey, H. and Standing, H. | | Publication Date | May 2005 | | Publisher | Health Policy and Planning | | Summary Source | adapted from abstract | | Summary | The impetus for and process of gender mainstreaming in Sector-wide Approaches (SWAps) in the Ministries of Health in Uganda, Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique are explored in this Health, Policy and Planning Journal article. The shifting and contested relationships between the Ministry of Health, donors and other government ministries (such as Ministries of Finance and Ministries of Women's Affairs/Gender) are important in shaping the opportunities and constraints faced in gender mainstreaming. Some of the achievements to date and ongoing challenges are explored through concrete examples from different countries. These include: the development of structures for mainstreaming, including the dilemmas of the 'focal points' approach and the role of national gender mainstreaming machinery; and the need for training and building capacity to identify and address gender issues, which involves engaging with new languages and concepts and developing new skills. Cross-cutting themes underlying these challenges are the need for gender-specific information and ways to finance mainstreaming strategies.
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