| Summary: | Both biological sex differences and social gender differences can result in gender-differentiated risks, exposure, infection and outcomes of infectious diseases, including epidemics. If these differences are not integrated into measurement and reporting of symptoms and alerts to track infectious diseases, they will not be incorporated into planning for prevention, preparedness and response (PPR). This lacuna, in turn, results in incomplete planning, programming and targeting of PPR actions, and thus ineffective and inefficient control of outbreaks such that persons of the disadvantaged gender have inadequate access to health and other services. PPR then does not reach the entire population at risk. Effective PPR also necessitates addressing gender gaps in human resources. Across gender, people are resources. For example, in their role as frontline health workers, household carers of the sick, livestock managers, and those responsible for water and food preparation, women can be enormous resources for PPR in communities. If women are not engaged in PPR, these experiences and knowledge are not fully exploited for effective PPR
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