The integration of gender in zoonotic diseases is critical to be considered at every level of the One Health workforce, including planning, policy development, program implementation, and program evaluation. A successful and sustainable workforce will have the capacity to address gender norms, gender-related barriers/constraints, gender roles, and gender relations. Furthermore, it will embed gender mainstreaming, gender equity, and fair treatment for all genders throughout its systems, operations, and institutional structures. Therefore, having these goals in MyOHUN’s implementation of sustainable programs, two webinars were conducted to address the gender issues in zoonoses.
Roles and Challenges of Gender in Infectious Diseases webinar was the first of the two webinars on the Live Webinar Series on Gender. The webinar was live on 8th April 2021 from 2.30 PM until 4.30 PM (Malaysia Time) with 151 attendees worldwide. Prof. Dato’ Dr. Abdul Rashid Khan of RSCI and UCD Malaysia Campus and the Project Leader of the activity, opened up the webinar with the introduction to gender before the issue being extensively elaborated by Dr. Anisah Baharum from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) and Prof. Dr. Ani Amelia Zainuddin from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). Prof. Dr. Ndola Prata from the University of California, Berkeley then attentively narrowed down the topic to Gender Roles in Zoonotic Diseases with the help of Ms. Siti Nur Afiqah Zahari from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
The second webinar, Gender Challenges in Zoonotic Infection, convened on 29th May 2021 from 9.00 AM to 11.30 AM (Malaysia Time), with 87 audiences participated during the live webinar. This webinar brought Dr. Kevin Olival, Vice President for Research, EcoHealth Alliance, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Mohd Rohaizat Hassan from UKM, and Prof. Dr. Ndola Prata from the University of California, Berkeley to discuss and delve deeper into the topic of gender in One Health.
These live webinars are novel in Malaysia, and the webinars received good feedbacks and comments. The fact that the webinar was attended by participants from various countries shows that the topic chosen was a much-needed issue to discuss in this day and age. MyOHUN hopes to see these webinars have an impact on the One Health environment in Malaysia.
Webinar Session 1 Recording:
Webinar Session 2 Recording: