(VNF) - In Hanoi, on April 4th, about 80 delegates from 11 countries in the East Asia Pacific Region have gathered to discuss how to meaningfully and effectively integrate gender in rural transport operations.

The 3-day workshop is part of a regional Gender Capacity Program for Rural Transport projects, which also involves exchange visits; technical assistance to participating countries, and a forum for rural transport clients to discuss how to reach male and female beneficiaries optimally.

Aiming to strengthen capacity for government partners in the region to meaningfully address gender inequalities in transport projects through learning from lessons and good practices from within and outside the region, the program will assist participating clients establish an action plan that adopt relevant lessons from other rural road projects and modify them to fit the local context and inpidual project development objectives.

Consideration of gender in the transport sector is essential to ensure that transport is equitable, affordable and that it provides access to resources and opportunities required for inclusive growth and poverty reduction.

The World Bank is facilitating the peer-to-peer learning as a way of transferring, replicating, and scaling up what works in development. Delegates have discussed rational and good practices for integrating gender in project design of rural roads, how to institutionalize effective road maintenance and poverty reduction and how to take account of gender aspects of road safety.

They also shared examples from Vietnam, Laos, China, Nepal, India and Solomon Islands on why and how to integrate gender in project designs, and specific experience with road maintenance as a means of involving women and reducing poverty on a sustainable basis, and road safety and security, and how these affect women differently from men.

Besides, participants have planned to visit Lao Cai province to experience firsthand the operations of local women’s road maintenance groups in four communes of Bac Ha district, which focused on commune and village roads./.

( VNF )