The Regional Gender Justice and Sexual Rights Initiative (REGENERATE) is a civil society-driven project focused on capacity and movement building, and advocacy. It addresses the long-standing gaps in integrating gender and sexual rights into health policies and responses for HIV, tuberculosis (TB), and malaria across the Asia-Pacific region. The project’s objective is an inclusive and responsive HIV, TB and malaria programs to the needs of women, girls, and people of diverse sexuality.
Context
Gender and Sexual orientation, gender identity, expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESCs) are critical yet often overlooked determinants of health. Women, girls, and people of diverse sexualities disproportionately bear the burden of HIV, TB and malaria, particularly in the Asia-Pacific region, where systemic gender inequality, discrimination, and violence remain pervasive. Despite acknowledgment of these barriers in various assessments, they rarely receive adequate attention of funding and policy-making in health programs.
This project is in line with Global Fund’s efforts to remove gender-related barriers to HIV, TB and malaria services.
Description
Strategies and activities will be carried out at both regional and country levels, designed to complement one another. The primary activities are:
- Establishing a regional and 3 national platforms: these civil society platforms focused on gender justice and sexual rights, representing key populations—vulnerable women, girls, and individuals of diverse sexuality—to develop and advance advocacy agendas;
- Strengthening the conceptual and operational understanding of gender and sexual rights among platform members. This includes advocacy training, organizational development, and leadership skill development through Learning & Leadership Institute;
- Engaging duty-bearers: equipping and influencing policymakers and program implementers in Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam to integrate gender-just and sexual rights-affirmative approaches into national HIV, TB, and malaria programs and policies.
Impact
This project will build the capacities of civil society and communities of vulnerable women, girls, and individuals of diverse sexualities to actively deliver advocacy for gender justice and sexual rights across the Asia-Pacific region.
