RESOURCES
Gender and COVID-19 Vaccines: Listening to Women-Focused Organizations in Asia and the Pacific
Summary
As a disaster-prone region, Asia and the Pacific faces the COVID-19 pandemic and vaccine rollouts amid threats that disproportionately impact women, girls, gender-diverse groups, and other marginalised populations and make it more difficult for them to access vaccines. From the Asia-Pacific Gender in Humanitarian Action Working Group (GiHA WG), this report provides a picture of emerging gendered barriers to COVID-19 vaccine uptake and supply, supplemented by analyses drawn from a virtual listening session with women-focused organisations (WFOs) on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Asia and the Pacific. Among the many barriers to women's access to COVID-19 vaccines that are reviewed in the report, captured by the figure, below, are those specific to the Asia-Pacific region.
- Ensure national vaccine prioritisation strategies account for overlapping vulnerabilities and intersecting identities of women and girls who are most exposed and vulnerable to COVID-19.
- Ensure inclusive and diverse representation of women and marginalised groups in all levels of decision-making during the COVID-19 response to ensure equitable distribution of the vaccine.
- Engage community-level organisations of women-focused and youth-centred organisations that engage girls in community outreach and participation to support the vaccination campaign and delivery.
- Amplify efforts to ensure timely and accurate information on COVID-19 vaccines is disseminated in accessible formats and various languages with an intersectional approach, to specifically reduce the spread of misinformation, vaccine hesitancy, and discrimination and stigma associated with COVID-19. Relatedly: Engage faith-based organisations to counter and dispel myths and address vaccine hesitancy.
- Develop strong platforms and action plans for risk communication and community engagement (RCCE) to ensure people are receiving the necessary information on COVID-19 vaccines - e.g., develop targeted and inclusive materials for key population groups, such as transgender populations, to transform behaviours for adoption of the vaccine.

Resource DETAILS
Authors: UN Women Asia Pacific
Year of publication: 2021
Knowledge Hub:
Content type: Case study, Evaluation
Areas of work: Social science
Region: Asia-Pacific
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