Global Gender Equality and Health
This House of Lords Library Briefing has been prepared in advance of the forthcoming debate on a motion moved by Baroness Sugg, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for International Development, on “the Women Deliver conference held in Vancouver on the 3–6 June 2019, and the role the UK plays internationally in promoting global gender equality and sexual and reproductive health and rights”.
Women Deliver describes itself as a “global advocate that champions gender equality and the health and rights of girls and women”. The international organisation operates in numerous networks, partnerships and working groups. These include the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), World Health Organisation (WHO), the World Bank, and UN Women. The Women Deliver conference is held every three years. It brings together around 6,000 political leaders, health experts, advocates and other stakeholders. The fifth Women Deliver conference was held in Vancouver, Canada, between 3 and 6 June 2019. It focussed on “power, and how it can drive—or hinder—progress and change”.
The Department for International Development (DFID) has oversight for the UK’s policy on promoting global gender equality and health. This briefing focuses on DFID’s progress on implementing several of the UN’s sustainable development goals and provides an overview of its global gender equality strategy and its five-year action plan to meet its international women, peace and security commitments, which were published in 2018. The briefing also provides background information on Women Deliver and provides a summary of the themes discussed at the 2019 conference.