Health equity and gender equality in conflict environments
Authors: Haironesah Domado
Journal: The Lancet (2024)

With a high level of interest, I read The Lancet Commission on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality by Valerie Percival and colleagues.1Percival V Thoms OT Oppenheim B et al.The Lancet Commission on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equality.Lancet. 2023; 402: 1661-1722Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Google Scholar The Commission's report admirably illuminates the transformative potential of health equity and gender equality in shaping peaceful societies. The emphasis on the intersectionality of health equity and gender equality brings to the fore the essence of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security.2UN WomenUN strategic results framework on women, peace and security: 2011–20.https://www.unwomen.org/en/docs/2011/7/un-strategic-results-framework-on-women-peace-and-securityDate: July, 2011Date accessed: September 8, 2023Google Scholar The findings seem to also align with Hudson's analysis in her work.3Hudson V Caprioli M Bowen DL McDermott R Sex and world peace. Columbia University Press, New York, NY2023Google Scholar Notably, the inside-out approach of the Commission seems to find an ally in the global discourse challenging the liberal peace paradigms and suggesting for local turn.4Öjendal J Schierenbeck I Hughes C The local turn in peacebuilding: the liberal peace challenged. Routledge, Abingdon2017Google Scholar Although health equity and gender equality offer promising groundwork to shape and inform the global peace agenda, they also paint a stark scenario of the problems we face. I think the pragmatic issues that emerge when translating these lofty aspirations into actions and reality cannot be underestimated, particularly in addressing gender-related challenges and ensuring fairness and equal access to health care. A case in point is the Bangsamoro region in Mindanao, Philippines, which is undergoing a transition from conflict to peace. There are existing laws for universal access to health care,5Official Gazette of the Republic of the PhilippinesRepublic Act No 11223.https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2019/02/20/republic-act-no-11223/Date: Feb 20, 2019Date accessed: September 8, 2023Google Scholar women's rights,6Philippine Commission on WomenRepublic Act 9710 or the Magna Carta of Women.https://pcw.gov.ph/faq-republic-act-9710-the-magna-carta-of-women/Date: Oct 20, 2022Date accessed: September 8, 2023Google Scholar and women's protection against violence.7Philippine Commission on WomenRA 9262: the anti-violence against women and their children act of 2004.https://pcw.gov.ph/faq-republic-act-9262/Date: July 4, 2023Date accessed: September 8, 2023Google Scholar Although this institutionalisation is relevant, given the mounting demands to deliver peace dividends on the ground resulting from the negotiated peace deal, the effective implementation of the laws, subsequent policies, and plans of action is largely hindered by practical challenges. Bangsamoro Transition Authority and local governments are faced with resource constraints imposing difficult choices between improving health and gender outcomes and peacebuilding objectives, which include coping with matters on demobilisation and reintegration of former combatants, transformation of war camps, and implementation of transitional justice measures. Communities are intensely divided on issues challenging traditional gender roles. Therefore, civil society, though vibrant, encounters formidable difficulties surmounting deeply entrenched cultural norms and structural barriers affecting women's health and women's opportunities. Health equity and gender equality are theoretically sound and beneficial to attaining lasting peace. This understanding should urge countries to take these findings and recommendations to heart and work tirelessly towards building a peaceful world where their citizens can enjoy the benefits of health equity and gender equality. However, we should not overlook the monumental and multi-faceted practical implications of concretely realising these principles in conflict settings, where legacies of war and violence, socio-cultural dynamics, and political complexities contribute to their fragility. I declare no competing interests. The Lancet Commission on peaceful societies through health equity and gender equalityThe multiple and overlapping crises faced by countries, regions, and the world appear unprecedented in their magnitude and complexity. Protracted conflicts continue and new ones emerge, fuelled by geopolitics and social, political, and economic pressures. The legacy of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, climatic events ranging from droughts to fires to cyclones, and rising food insecurity add to these pressures. These crises have exposed the inadequacy of national and global leadership and governance structures. Full-Text PDF