eLearning Modules for Gender and Development

The modules are part of the Medicines, Technologies, and Pharmaceutical Services (MTaPS) Program, which aims to ensure sustainable access to and appropriate use of safe, effective, quality-assured, and affordable essential medicines, vaccines, and other health technologies and pharmaceutical services. The program's global goal is to promote gender equity and ensure that pharmaceutical system strengthening initiatives are gender-responsive and inclusive. In 2020, MTaPS conducted research on the sex and gender impact on access to health services, including family planning and tuberculosis services, in the Philippines. The research found limited knowledge and data on the sex and gender impact on access to health services, as well as a lack of gender experts with pharmaceutical and public health knowledge within the Department of Health (DOH). To address this, MTaPS and the DOH's Health Policy Development and Planning Bureau (HPDPB) agreed to develop the Gender and Development eLearning Course. The course is divided into three modules: Sex and Gender 101, The Role of Sex and Gender in Supply Chain Management, Pharmacovigilance, and Access to Commodities and Pharmaceutical Services, and Gender Mainstreaming in Health Planning. The first module provides an overview of the concepts of sex, gender, and health equity and their importance in conducting gender analysis. The second module shows how the interactions of sex and gender affect pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and discusses country-specific sex and gender challenges in accessing tuberculosis and family planning commodities. The third module provides an overview of how sex and gender affect pathways to health, including gender-related differences in exposures, health behaviors, and impacts on accessing healthcare. The eLearning course was first delivered through a webinar attended by 272 planning officers from the DOH, regions, and hospitals. MTaPS also helped the DOH prepare the required forms to seek continuing professional development (CPD) accreditation from the Professional Regulatory Commission for the course. Having the Gender and Development eLearning Course available in the DOH Academy will strengthen the institutional capacity of the DOH in building the capacity of GAD focal persons in incorporating gender awareness and mainstreaming principles in pharmaceutical services delivery. The course will improve the knowledge and skills of GAD focal persons in advancing outcomes around gender equity in the areas of pharmaceutical supply chain management and pharmacovigilance. The modules are available online, with links provided for access. The eLearning course is a key component of the MTaPS Program's efforts to promote gender equity and ensure that pharmaceutical system strengthening initiatives are gender-responsive and inclusive.