By Hannah Ornas
Edited by Samyukta Singh
Graphic by Sarah Lu
African and U.S. leaders convened in Washington, D.C at the close of 2022 for the first U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit since 2014. The Biden-Harris administration announced plans to bolster U.S.-Africa partnerships at the summit, with a commitment to invest roughly USD $55 billion in the continent over the next three years.1 Alongside economic and technological investments,2 gender equity emerged as an important and shared priority, with the White House acknowledging the critical role gender equity plays in improving health outcomes and driving progress across social and economic indicators.3 The official White House statement is as follows:
“Promoting gender equity and equality is a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy in Africa and around the world. Advancing the status of women and girls is not only a matter of human rights, justice, and fairness—it is also a strategic imperative that reduces poverty and promotes sustainable economic growth, increases access to education, improves health outcomes, advances political stability, and fosters democracy.” 4
Similar sentiments were recently echoed by leaders of the European Union (EU), as the EU unveiled its new global health strategy at the close of 2022 in Kigali, Rwanda.5 This new initiative, launched alongside African partners, aims to advance sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) across Western, Central, Eastern, and Southern regions: “In line with the new EU Global Health Strategy, empowering women, girls and young people by investing in their health and education is key to building prosperous and inclusive societies,” shared Jutta Urpilainen, the Commissioner for International Partnerships at the European Commission.6 The four-year initiative aims to advance SRHR within national health and education sectors, improve the availability and affordability of SRHR goods and services–such as reproductive care–and increase accountability within SRHR initiatives.7 The EU has earmarked EUR €60 million in new funds for the initiative, with additional investment expected from member states.8
The uptick in bilateral and multilateral partnerships centered on gender equity and health come at a time when many nations are grappling with vast social and economic inequality. The pandemic widened preexisting health disparities and pushed the most vulnerable further to the margins, especially women and girls.9 According to the World Bank, women and girls across Africa bore the brunt of the pandemic across key dimensions, including education, health, and employment.10 In Kenya, drop-out rates for secondary-aged girls during the pandemic rose from 3% to 9%, while risk of adolescent pregnancy doubled.11 At the same time, maternal deaths doubled and more women than men reported losing their jobs across countries.12
The backslide in gender equity across multiple social and economic spheres is particularly disheartening given the wealth of evidence demonstrating its role in driving positive outcomes. The intricate linkages between gender equality and social and economic outcomes are well researched: Evidence shows that when women are educated, empowered, and economically active economies grow,13 communities are more resilient,14 and families are healthier.15 A recent study published in The Lancet concluded that the prevalence of gender inequality within a country creates a “sizable impact” on population health.16 The 2021 study, which examined the association between gender inequality and population-level health outcomes, found that countries with greater gender inequality experienced lower life expectancy, increased premature mortality, and years lived with disability.17 Researchers concluded that reducing gender inequality at the national scale could improve health outcomes at a population-level, resulting in increased healthy life expectancy and decreased disease burden across all genders.18
Applying a gender-responsive lens within public policy in a post-pandemic world will be critical to optimizing health outcomes, reducing inequality, and regaining lost social and economic progress. While it is encouraging to see an uptick in commitments and investments to advance gender equity globally, the true challenge will be ensuring leaders uphold these bold promises, and that policy is effectively—and swiftly—translated into practice for those who need it the most.
Endnotes
- The White House. “Fact Sheet: U.S.-Africa Partnerships in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment,” December 22, 2022. https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/12/14/fact-sheet-u-s-africa-partnerships-in-gender-equality-and-womens-empowerment/.
- Yabi, Matthew Duss, Gilles. “The Major Takeaways From the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit.” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Accessed December 23, 2022. https://carnegieendowment.org/2022/12/21/major-takeaways-from-u.s.-africa-leaders-summit-pub-88691.
- The White House. “Fact Sheet: U.S.-Africa Partnerships in Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment.”
- ibid
- European Commission – European Commission. “EU and African Partners Launch Flagship Initiative to Enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.” Text. European Commission. Accessed January 2, 2023. https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/home/en.
- European Commission – European Commission. “EU and African Partners Launch Flagship Initiative to Enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.”
- European Commission – European Commission. “EU and African Partners Launch Flagship Initiative to Enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.”
- European Commission – European Commission. “EU and African Partners Launch Flagship Initiative to Enhance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.”
9. “The Impact of COVID-19 on Women .” Policy Brief. United Nations, April 9, 2020. https://unsdg.un.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Policy-Brief-on-COVID-Impact-on-Women.pdf. - World Bank. “Assessing the Damage: Early Evidence on Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis on Girls and Women in Africa.” Text/HTML. Accessed January 9, 2023. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/infographic/2022/05/25/assessing-the-damage-early-evidence-on-impacts-of-the-covid-19-crisis-on-girls-and-women-in-africa.
- World Bank. “Assessing the Damage: Early Evidence on Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis on Girls and Women in Africa.”
- World Bank. “Assessing the Damage: Early Evidence on Impacts of the COVID-19 Crisis on Girls and Women in Africa.”
- Farrant, Gaëlle, and Alexandre Kolev. “The Economic Cost of Gender-Based Discrimination in Social Institutions.” ECD Development Centre, June 2016. https://www.oecd.org/development/gender-development/SIGI_cost_final.pdf.
- Abid, Aiza, Sbhatu Gebremeskel Fanuel , Pragya Tikku, and Sugandha Gupta. “Girls’ Education and Climate Resilience.” Max Bell School of Public Policy, July 27, 2022. https://www.mcgill.ca/maxbellschool/policy-lab-2022/girls-education-climate-resilience.
- PRB. “The Effect of Education of Girls’ Education on Health Outcomes.” Population Reference Bureau, August 15, 2011.
- Veas, Cecilia, Francisca Crispi, and Cristóbal Cuadrado. “Association between Gender Inequality and Population-Level Health Outcomes: Panel Data Analysis of Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Countries.” EClinicalMedicine 39 (September 2021): 101051. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eclinm.2021.101051
- Veas, Cecilia, Francisca Crispi, and Cristóbal Cuadrado. “Association between Gender Inequality and Population-Level Health Outcomes: Panel Data Analysis of Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Countries.”
- Veas, Cecilia, Francisca Crispi, and Cristóbal Cuadrado. “Association between Gender Inequality and Population-Level Health Outcomes: Panel Data Analysis of Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) Countries.”
