Global Health 50/50 Report hits the road with India launch
29 March 2018 — The 2018 Global Health 50/50 Report was relaunched this week, this time in New Delhi in an effort to bring the report’s findings to other parts of the globe and to hear diverse perspectives from policy makers, practitioners and activists from various sectors active in the wider region.
Hosted by the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), the launch event focused on sharing the inaugural report’s key findings and messages to a broader audience and eliciting feedback on how to implement the report’s recommendations.
The launch was attended by India-based representatives of many Global Health 50/50 partners and stakeholders, from international organizations and foundations to academic and research institutions.
More than 50 guests engaged with a panel that comprised Dr Zoya Rizvi, Assistant Commissioner, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India; Dr Yasmin Ali Haque, Country Director, UNICEF; Loveleen Kacker, CEO, Tech Mahindra Foundation; Ms Geetanjali Misra, Executive Director, CREA, and Global Health 50/50 Advisory Council member; Ms Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, who served as panel chair; and Professor Sarah Hawkes and Dr Kent Buse, Global Health 50/50 Co-Leads.
The panel spoke to the relevance and timeliness of the report at the regional, national and sub-national levels. Many speakers shared their insights and experiences working on gender and gender equality within their organizations and specifically in India and the Southeast Asia region.
The keynote address was delivered by Mrs Rajni Sekhri Sibal, Additional Secretary and Director-General of the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD).
“When cultural norms and traditions affect people’s behaviours, particularly women who are at a disadvantage already, it begins to impact their health. The Global Health 50/50 Report needs to go beyond this sector. We need to start working on providing dynamic tools for organizations to reflect and question themselves,” said Mrs Sekhri Sibal.
Also speaking at the opening was Dr Ravi Verma, Asia Regional Director of ICRW, and a Global Health 50/50 Advisory Council member. In his remarks, he noted that the “next steps in the journey is to make organizations truly gender responsive and accountable in actions to what they commit.”
Commenting on the event, ICRW President Dr Sarah Kambou said, “ICRW was pleased to host the New Delhi launch of this ground breaking report. The report’s findings merit close attention. The tide is turning and we at ICRW are already strategizing on how to move the recommendations forward for our own organization.”
“We are delighted that the Global Health 50/50 report was so well received by members of civil society, government, the foundation sector, researchers and the international community in New Delhi,” said Profesor Hawkes and Dr Buse. “We are grateful for the suggestions to put the findings of the report to work, to expand the scope of the analysis and for the commitment voiced to create more gender responsive organizations in India and globally.”
The inaugural Global Health 50/50 Report was launched on 8 March 2018, International Women’s Day in London, England.
Global Health 50/50
Global Health 50/50 is an independent initiative to advance action and accountability for gender equality in global health and contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is housed by the University College London Centre for Gender and Global Health.
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