Equimundo News – 11th Edition

In August, Equimundo and partners participated in the Sixth Symposium on Fatherhood, Singularities and Public Policies: Fatherhood and Care (“VI Simpósio Paternidades, Singularidades e Políticas Públicas: Paternidade e Cuidado,” in Portuguese) to celebrate Fatherhood Appreciation Month in Brazil. Topics such as advances in the involvement of fathers in the health care system were discussed during the event, including the promotion of men’s active fatherhood, ranging from prenatal care to the division of caregiving tasks.

The publication Program P: A Manual for Engaging Men in Fatherhood, Caregiving, and Maternal and Child Health (“Programa P: manual para o exercício da paternidade e do cuidado,” in Portuguese) was launched in Portuguese during the symposium. This toolkit contributes to the training of health care professionals on the inclusion of men in health care units and in prenatal care, and on how to make these spaces more male-friendly. The toolkit can be downloaded in English here.

Equimundo also launched the children’s book Kicking Little Rocks (“Chutando Pedrinhas,” in Portuguese), created by girls in the Prazeres community of Rio de Janeiro, which addresses the gender-equitable and violence-free education of boys and girls. An article on the book is also included in this edition of Equimundo News.

Equimundo and partners also participated in an online conversation, co-hosted with MenCare, MenEngage and Girls’ Globe, which discussed the importance of men’s involvement in maternal, newborn and child health.

The interview section of this issue includes a conversation with Douglas Mendoza, regional coordinator of the MenEngage Alliance and supervisor of Program P implementation in Nicaragua, in which he discusses some of the challenges of carrying out such initiatives in the country, as well as his experience as a father.

In this issue, we also share the article “Fatherhood and Economic Crisis: Transformations and Challenges,” by Equimundo-Europe’s Teresa Maneca Lima and Sofia José Santos, which addresses some of the key advances in involved fatherhood in Europe, and the challenges posed to these advances by the present economic crisis.

Enjoy!