Women's Health Research and Gender-based Analysis: Sharing Expertise and Experience

The Atlantic Centre of Excellence for Women's Health (ACEWH) and the Human Sciences Research Council of South Africa (HSRC) established a Memorandum of Agreement in March of 2005 to collaborate on social sciences research, women's health, and gender-based analysis. Since that time ACEWH and HSRC have established a dynamic partnership which has included the co-hosting and facilitation of several sessions at International conferences, the co-publication of conference proceedings, co-hosting CIDA-funded IYIP youth interns and the co-application to the Teasdale-Corti programme. While many planning activities are possible through distance communication, it is also important to meet face-to-face in order to develop strategic plans and research proposals. This application is to support a meeting in South Africa between researchers at ACEWH, Prairie Women's Health Centre of Excellence (PWHCE) and those at HSRC to further advance our collective work on integrating gender-based analysis into social sciences research on women's health, including an emphasis on HIV/AIDS. This would be done through consultative meetings with researchers at HSRC working within the Social Aspects of HIV/AIDS and the Gender Units and also with the pan-African research alliance, SAHARA, which is housed in the Cape Town offices of HSRC. We also propose including the Gender and Development department at the University of Western Cape, with whom we have had preliminary discussions about collaborations, and the Society and HIV programme at the University of Cape Town, to initiate a dialogue about potential collaborations.