Project Overview
The Centre for Gender, Women and Children in Sustainable Development (CGWCSD) was commissioned by Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation to develop a Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Policy to strengthen its institutional commitment to gender equality, diversity, and inclusion across all programmes, operations, partnerships, and service delivery systems. While Ipas Nigeria has a strong track record in promoting women’s reproductive health and rights, it lacked a comprehensive framework to systematically guide and coordinate gender and social inclusion efforts. As a result, existing initiatives were fragmented and required stronger policy direction, accountability structures, and monitoring systems to ensure consistent and inclusive programming, particularly for vulnerable and marginalised populations.
To address this gap, CGWCSD adopted a participatory, evidence-based approach that combined institutional assessment, stakeholder consultations, policy and document reviews, and situational analysis. The process involved engaging Ipas Nigeria management, staff, partners, and key development stakeholders, while also integrating global best practices to ensure the policy was both contextually relevant and aligned with international standards.
Objectives
The assignment aimed to assess the existing gender and social inclusion environment within Ipas Nigeria, develop a comprehensive GESI Policy aligned with global, regional, and national frameworks, strengthen institutional systems for gender mainstreaming and accountability, promote equitable access to reproductive health services for women, girls, and marginalized groups, and establish effective monitoring, reporting, and learning mechanisms for sustained implementation.
Key Activities
CGWCSD conducted an institutional gender and social inclusion assessment, reviewed existing organisational policies and systems, and facilitated stakeholder consultations and validation sessions. The Centre also undertook a situational analysis to identify key gaps and opportunities. Based on the findings, CGWCSD developed the Ipas Nigeria Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy and designed accompanying implementation, accountability, monitoring, and reporting frameworks to support effective adoption and institutionalisation.
Key Achievements
Through CGWCSD’s technical leadership, a comprehensive GESI Policy was successfully developed for Ipas Nigeria. The process strengthened workplace equality and inclusion priorities, improved gender-responsive human resource and accountability systems, and introduced structured frameworks for mainstreaming GESI across programmes and operations. It also provided practical implementation and monitoring tools to support long-term institutional change.
Impact
The intervention by CGWCSD significantly strengthened Ipas Nigeria’s institutional capacity to integrate gender equality and social inclusion into its policies, programmes, and service delivery systems. The GESI Policy now serves as a strategic framework for advancing women’s rights, improving equitable access to reproductive health services, enhancing organisational accountability, and fostering a more inclusive institutional culture.
Partners
- Ipas Nigeria Health Foundation
