Core Contribution for Gender Equality & Health Alliance (GEH Alliance) 2025-2028

• In 2023, through the Alliance’s support, more than 33’500 births were attended by skilled health personnel, highlighting the Alliance’s focus on ensuring quality SRHR’s services for women. This represents a significant 47% increase compared to 2022. In 2023, 98% of the health facilities supported by the Alliance in 9 countries used the partogram to monitor progress during labour. This results from the quality and longterm support to health facilities in Afghanistan Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mexico, Togo and Zimbabwe. In the same year, 50% of births taking place in health facilities in 4 countries (Mali, Togo, Chad and Bangladesh) were attended by the male partner.
• Local authorities initiated 52 health equity and sexual and gender based violence prevention actions with the support of Alliance members or partners, exceeding the 2023 target by 30%. For example, a workshop was held in Haiti to revise the school "Code of Conduct" by adding a "Charter Against Gender-Based Violence," in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and UNICEF. Another example is the use of the “NOM46” standard (law on domestic violence and sexual violence against women) to improve the processing of sexual violence cases in hospitals located in the State of Chiapas in Mexico.
• In 2023, 64% of the over 22’600 GBV cases managed by the Alliance, involved survivors accessing inter-institutional support (e.g.; medical, legal and psychosocial). 
• More than 4’100 men subjected to sexual or psychological violence were also reached by the Alliance. Furthermore, in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cameroon, over 450 perpetrators of SGBV accessed targeted counselling programmes.
• In 2023, the alliance’s work hand-in-hand with communities pursued. In Benin, for example, 134 communities successfully launched initiatives on SRHR promotion and SGBV prevention as part of their “community watch mechanism”. It includes home visits and sensitisation campaigns.
• Through the Alliance and its partners’ engagement, nearly 166’200 persons increased their skills, attitudes and/or knowledge about SRHR, out of which more than 45’800 women (28%), more than 102’000 girls (61%) and nearly 18’300 boys (11%). This represents nearly the double compared to 2022.

Localisation: In 2023, the Alliance identified several good practices for its international programme. For example, in Cameroon, a task force with civil society and authorities was established to revise the Code of Criminal Procedure to include and recognize rape against men and boys. In Albania, a IAMANEH’s local partner contributed to drafting a law addressing digital and technology-related violence, focusing on gender equality and human rights.

PSEAH: To monitor advancement with regard to PSEAH policies and implementation, the Alliance continued to collect data on policy establishment and improvement and PSEAH mainstreaming systems and practices at partner level so as to allow a comparison and analysis where partners stand with regard to PSEAH policies and its implementation.

1. Civil society, national stakeholders and Alliance members collaborate in equitable partnerships to implement quality programmes and advocate for sustainable health and gender equality policies and laws at international, national, and subnational levels.
2. Relevant systems are strengthened to provide quality, accessible, inclusive and sustainable services.
3. Communities promote health and gender equality, and condemn all forms of violence, in particular SGBV.
4. Women, youth and children, in particular those affected by intersectional discrimination, know and claim their rights.

The role of Swiss NGOs in the implementation of the Swiss IC Strategy 2025-28 shall be strengthened through:

a) Sharpening the narrative on the importance of the core contribution,

b) An inclusive policy dialogue,

c) Locally led development and

d) Potential adaptations of programmes and approaches (reforms

in the larger sense).