The purpose of this policy brief is to offer stakeholders some suggestions on elements and data that may help them to assess whether they are implementing the new sustainable development framework in a gender-sensitive manner.

The findings of this assessment indicates that gender-related barriers pose significant obstacles to the uptake of services that prevent new HIV infections among children and keep mothers alive—obstacles that require urgent attention. Without dedicated attempts to overcome these gender-related barriers, current efforts will meet with limited success, and the needs and rights of both women and children will remain compromised.

Despite considerable progress in the past decades, societies continue to fail to meet the health-care needs of women at key moments of their lives, particularly in their adolescent years and in older age. The report provides the latest and most comprehensive evidence available to date on women's specific health needs and challenges over their life course, from birth to older age.

This publication is the result of extensive consultations and a response to the call for clear policy and practical guidance for mainstreaming gender perspectives into disaster risk reduction. It offers much-needed policy and practical guidelines for national and local governments to further implement the Hyogo Framework for Action.