Department of Defense

This DoD action established policy, assigned responsibilities, and prescribed procedures for the identification, surveillance, and management of members of the Military Services living with HIV. It also detailed prevention activities to control transmission of HIV. On June 6, 2022, the Policy was updated to allow individuals that are HIV-positive to enlist if they meet certain criteria (i.e., undetectable viral load, asymptomatic) and specifically stated that they cannot be “discharged or separated solely on the basis of their HIV-positive status.” One section of the Policy used “infected with HIV” language, which was stigmatizing. The policy change that allowed sero-positive Military Service members to remain enlisted is responsive to need and based in evidence, and helps to reduce stigma against people living with HIV (PLHIV). As such, the Policy moderately promoted SRHR in the HIV and AIDS domain.

The action documented the USG strategy for global health security with an emphasis on the following four areas: (1) marshaling political will, (2) developing global norms around quality of care and technical standards, (3) enhancing sustainable multilateral financing, and (4) strengthening capacities in partner countries. While the action was not explicitly based in human rights principles, it aligned to International Health Regulations, the Biological and Toxins Weapon Convention, United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1540, and other international health conventions that are rights-based. It was responsive to need and based in evidence. The action was gender blind as it focused on supply-side interventions and did not mention gender. Despite acknowledging the work of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) globally, there was no substantive discussion about their work in health security. The action neither advanced nor hindered SRHR in the HIV and AIDS domain.

The U.S. Government Global Water Strategy 2022-2027 outlined a four-pronged approach to promoting sustainable and equitable access to safe drinking water and sanitation services around the world. It aimed to accomplish this goal via foreign assistance, technical advisory, and diplomatic cooperation. The DoD implementation plan did not approach water security from a rights-based framework, and instead focused only on the needs of DoD staff globally. Additionally, while this action was responsive to the need to address water scarcity, it did not recognise the impact of water security on health. The action leaned heavily on climate-resilient conservation and reducing conflict and fragility related to water through infrastructure improvements with little consideration for other inequities that condition water access such as norms, gender-based violence, and SRHR service disruptions. This report hindered SRHR in the HIV and AIDS domain.

The WPS Report provided Congress with an overview of progress made in implementing the WPS Agenda since the Biden-Harris administration’s interventions in 2021. The Report evaluated progress in advancing the WPS Strategy's four lines of effort across the Department of State, DoD, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID): participation, protection, internal capabilities, and partnerships. This Report emphasized the need for more women in security and peacebuilding processes and included a DoD Department Highlights section. The DoD highlights were responsive to need and included the hiring and training of WPS personnel and gender advisors to implement WPS activities including the incorporation of gender analysis into security coordination. The gender analysis reinforced a gender binary by only referring to “women,” which was gender accomodating. Though key milestones were included to measure each agency’s progress, they were too high-level to effectively evaluate the impact of gender inclusive programming. While improved health outcomes were included as a positive impact of implementing the WPS Agenda across agencies, HIV and AIDS and the needs of PLHIV were not included in relation to DoD activities. The Report neither hindered nor promoted SRHR in the HIV and AIDS domain.