ARC, with the support of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is implementing a project titled- “Gender Responsive Mechanisms for Epidemic Preparedness”, which aims to support member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to provide rapid and appropriate gender-sensitive responses to infectious disease outbreaks and epidemics in the region. Sierra Leone has been identified as a priority country that will benefit from the project, alongside Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Guinea Bissau.

Through this project, ARC has commissioned Gender, Health Emergency, and Disaster Risk Management Specialists in each country to lead the implementation of in-country activities. Each Specialist has conducted an in-depth gender analysis of i. the health sector from the perspective of disease outbreaks and ii. the interlinked disaster risk management and financing sector.

On 5 April 2024, ARC held a validation workshop in Freetown to review the gender analysis conducted in Sierra Leone. Participants confirmed their appropriation of the findings, recommendations, and gender action plan proposed for a transformative gender approach to preventing and responding to health- and climate-related disasters by unanimously validating the report. Key activities in the action plan are training and the findings of the gender analysis, which were summarised into a policy brief to influence gender transformative policy decisions and actions in disaster risk management (DRM) and outbreaks and epidemics (O&E). A key component of the gender action plan is capacity building through training.

In this context, ARC organized two training sets- one targetting health practitioners and the other set with civil society and DRM experts to create a training of trainers network.
The workshops aimed to sensitize them and integrate gender-responsive mechanisms into their respective roles throughout the preparedness and response cycle to health and climate-related disasters.

The outcomes are :

1. Enhanced understanding of Gender and Public Health Emergency (PHE) and DRM concepts.
2. Increased awareness of the gendered impacts of health and climate-related disasters and the importance of integrating a gender perspective into the DRM cycle and PHE preparedness and response.
3. Participants equipped with knowledge, tools, and skills for integrating gender in policies and programs relating to DRM and PHE preparedness and response.
4. Sensitisation on national legislation about Gender, Public Health Emergencies, and DRM.
5. Practical tools and methodologies for gender-responsive health and climate-related disaster risk assessments and financing strategies shared.
6. Renewed commitment to policy coherence for gender, disaster risk reduction/management, and O&E.
7. Relevant technical and financial partnerships for implementing critical actions and activities explored.
8. Increased communication and advocacy at policy, micro, and meso levels on the interlinkages between Gender, public health emergencies, and DRM.
9. Increased visibility and empowerment of community members, civil society, traditional authorities, and religious leaders on Gender, PHE, and DRM policies and programming.
10. Increased interest in ARC Programmes.