HERA
HEALTH, EMPOWERMENT, RIGHTS & ACCOUNTABILITY
HERA is an international group of women's health activists working together worldwide to ensure implementation of the Programme of Action produced by the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) held in Cairo 1994. Building on the Cairo Agenda, we advocate, design and implement strategies to guarantee sexual and reproductive health and rights, within the broader context of human rights and sustainable development.
We share a vision of Health, Empowerment and Rights and of policies, programs and institutions that are Accountable to the people they are intended to serve. We are primarily concerned with ensuring that the ICPD Program of Action is implemented in our own countries. Internationally, we will continue to:
- work with strategically chosen donors, international agencies and governments to invest in the institutional capacity of women's groups and to ensure women's participation in design, implementation and evaluation of programs and policies;
- foster mechanisms to assure institutional and program accountability at various levels;
- document and disseminate the processes, activities and accomplishments of this agenda; and
- collaborate with other groups who share our values and goals.
The mission
HERA believes that the economic and political empowerment of women is a fundamental precursor to the implementation of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development. Women's ability to exercise sexual and reproductive rights is an essential element in their empowerment. Women's organizations play crucial roles in the empowerment of women and in building capacity for change, as well as in the capacity of program and policies to be accountable to the people they serve at the national and international level.
In order for women to be able to secure reproductive and sexual health care, health systems and policies must be equitable and non-discriminatory. These systems and policies have to be supported by an enabling economic environment that values social investment in infrastructures for health and education.
Policy and programmatic goals
HERA will work to ensure:
- that a reproductive health approach becomes the operational philosophy and programmatic ethic of all international agencies and donors;
- that integrated reproductive health services become the basis of all policies and programmes, including treatment and prevention of STDs/HIV/AIDS and family planning;
Work plan
To achieve these goals, HERA will focus its work primarily on the activities and policies of UNFPA, WHO, the World Bank and UNAIDS. We will also seek to respond to strategic opportunities in other agencies, including UNICEF, UNDP, and UNIFEM.
HERA undertakes to:
- better understand how these agencies work, how their decisions are made and to whom decisions are made accountable;
- institute mechanisms and channels of communication for ongoing consultation;
- produce/disseminate documentation and training on "how to" deliver reproductive health, as outlined above. This will include the principles and concrete examples of program and policy innovation.
- invest in training and education of a broader constituency of activists and identified supporters within agencies in order to create a multiplier effect;and
- undertake expert consultation
Who is HERA?
Shameem Ahmed, Bangladesh
Maria Betania Avila, Brazil
Mabel Bianco, Argentina
Celeste Cambria, Peru
Gloria Careaga Perez, Mexico
Frescia Carrasco, Peru
Amparo Claro, Chile
Sonia Correa, Brazil
Esther Endale, Cameroon
Monique Essed Fernandes, Suriname
Adrienne Germain, USA
Brigid Inder, New Zealand
Sandra Kabir, Bangladesh
Barbara Klugman, South Africa
Rachel Kyte, UK
Bene Madunagu, Nigeria
Maria Consuelo Mejia, Mexico
Florence Manguyu, Kenya
Wanda Nowicka, Poland
Jacqueline Pitanguy, Brazil
Anastasia Posadskaya, Russian Federation
Adepeju Olukoya, Nigeria
Hilda Saeed, Pakistan
Gita Sen, India
Mona Zulficar, Egypt
For further information contact:
HERA Secretariat
c/o The International Women's Health Coalition
24 East 21st Street, 5th floor
New York, NY 10010, USA
Tel: (212) 979 8500
Fax: (212) 979 9009
Email: iwhc@igc.apc.org
HERA steering committee
Gloria Careaga, Mexico
Monique Essed Fernandes, Suriname
Adrienne Germain, USA
Bene Madunagu, Nigeria
Betty Farrell, USA (Secretariat)