07 Sep HRH2030 Launches e-Learning Course on Gender Competencies for Family Planning Providers
The Human Resources for Health in 2030 Program has launched a new virtual e-Learning course program, Gender Competency for Family Planning Providers. Designed for health workers, policymakers, and program planners at ministries of health and their local partners, as well as others with a stake in delivering quality family planning services, the course aims to reduce provider bias and facilitate the provision of gender-sensitive, transformative services to help improve gender equality and reproductive health outcomes.
The course is based upon a global competency framework and technical brief developed by HRH2030 and USAID’s Office of Population and Reproductive Health, Defining and Advancing a Gender-Competent Family Planning Service Provider. Gender competent health workers are able to identify how different norms, biases, and status influence family planning and reproductive health behavior and choices of women, men, girls, and boys, and ensure that providers address these when helping their clients make voluntary and informed decisions about their family planning needs. First published in 2018, the framework identifies six different domains in which service providers can demonstrate competency, The original framework was then tested, validated, and refined with health workers and stakeholders in the Philippines and Ethiopia, and an updated version was published in 2020.
Consisting of seven modules, the free e-Learning course illustrates each of the six domains of gender competence. Each module, estimated to take learners 20-30 minutes to complete, includes an overview of the domain, interactive sessions, and a knowledge recap. Content is geared to ensuring that participants understand the requisite knowledge, skills, and attitudes for delivering gender-competent services, and can demonstrate delivery of these services through case studies, simulations, and work-related scenarios. The goal of the program is to ensure that all learners will be able to explain the significance of gender competency for family planning providers and understand how a provider’s own gender and status may influence how they deliver family planning services. All learners who complete the course and pass a final assessment will receive a certificate.
A gender-competent health workforce strives to create equitable opportunities for women, men, girls, and boys to make voluntary and informed decisions based on their family planning needs. This eLearning training will contribute to improving providers’ capacity and reducing bias to support individuals, couples, and families in meeting their desired family planning needs.