Addressing gender inequities in health and environment

2009

This report is the result of the evidence, discussions and recommendations presented at the VI Forum on Gender and Health in 2009 which was devoted to gender inequities, environment and health. The Forum was organized by the Ministry of Health and Social Policy of Spain in collaboration with the WHO Regional Office for Europe in the context of the preparatory work for the Ministerial Conference on Health and Environment  held in Parma 10–12 March, 2010.

It includes an overview of evidence available as well as principles and suggested actions for programmes concerning the mainstreaming of gender equity in environment and health. The appropriate choice of action in a given country will depend on the degree that gender is incorporated as a priority in all policies. To illustrate this point, and taken into consideration the available evidence, several cases were presented to exemplify the varying conditions found in favourable and less favourable environments.