GPH Co-Founders of Global 50/50 Discuss the Global Pushback Against Gender Justice on Astro AWANI

Published: 24 August 2026

On 29 July 2025, Prof. Sarah Hawkes and Prof. Kent Buse, Head and Director of Program Development at GPH and Co-Founders and Co-CEOs of Global Health 50/50, appeared on Malaysian television programme Consider This on Astro AWANI to discuss the global rise of anti-gender movements and why embedding gender justice into global health remains an uphill battle.

Drawing on findings from the Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health, the pair stressed that gender must be built into health policies and programmes from the outset if health outcomes are to improve for everyone, not treated as an afterthought layered on at the end. They also spoke about Global 50/50's evolving mission beyond global health, positioning the initiative as a broader accountability mechanism pushing institutions in law, justice, and finance toward gender-just policies.

The interview, later featured by Global 50/50 itself under the headline "Why Gender Justice Faces Resistance," reflects GPH's continued visibility in Malaysia's national conversation on gender equity, an extension of the department's research leadership into the public sphere.

Astro AWANI "Consider This: Why Gender Justice Faces Resistance": Youtube