GEDSI reference guide: GEDSI & Health

The right to health is a fundamental human right that encompasses the highest attainable standard of physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease. It must be enjoyed by everyone without discrimination, and achieving this requires deliberate efforts to ensure equitable and inclusive access to services, decision-making, participation, systems, and well-being for the most vulnerable. Health programs cannot achieve development goals if they exclude or treat certain groups unequally. By integrating Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI) approaches into health programming, groups such as women, children, older people, persons with disabilities, and refugees can more equitably access services, participate in decision-making, and benefit from health interventions. World Vision’s GEDSI approach seeks to challenge and transform harmful gender and social norms, as well as underlying power imbalances.