On the occasion of World Health Day 2019, on 9th April GENDRO’s president, Dr Shirin Heidari, announced the launch of GENDRO’s Gender, Evidence and Health Network, as a think tank dedicated to convene actors in Geneva and facilitate joint actions towards improving integration of sex and gender in health research and data analysis. This network is supported by Geneva Think Tank Hub.

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As part of its efforts towards advancing equity through sex and gender sensitive research, GENDRO’s Gender, Evidence and Health Network aims to create a think tank where partners can exchange ideas,
discuss methodological complexities and elaborate comprehensive approaches to gender mainstreaming in health data and research. In 2019, we organised three Network meetings, where members presented ongoing work, discussed data challenges, and developed joint projects and actions. One of the projects is a systematic review of gender considerations in research ethics guidelines. The goal is to develop recommendations so that the ethics committees can consider gender dimensions in their review of health research protocols as a matter of routine and contribute to improving ethical and equitable health research.

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By the end of 2021, the number of the GEH Network members had increased from 11 (in 2019) to 112 individuals from academic research institutions, UN agencies, and other international and civil society organisations. Our Network was highlighted in Les Temps on 13 June 2019, as one of the few initiatives that focuses on improving gender equity in research and evidence. Throughout 2020 – 2021, the GEH Network has served as a platform for several awareness raising and knowledge production initiatives some of which have been published at the BMJ Global Health while others are in the active collaboration phase.