The MDG-F Joint Programmes on Culture and Development are contributing in various ways to the achievement of MDGs 4, 5 and 6, namely improving maternal health, promoting socio-cultural approaches to HIV/AIDS prevention/treatment, and more broadly developing culturally sensitive health policies, including by:

• Promoting a culturally-sensitive approach to health, by integrating cultural practices into health services for instance (e.g. an intercultural health system has been established in Sucumbios province, Ecuador, to raise awareness about culturally appropriate childbirth and to enable patients to decide how they want to be attended during childbirth)

• Recognizing the role of traditional health and education systems for more sustainable and appropriate approaches to sexual and reproductive health (e.g. in Mozambique, to enhance the fight against HIV/AIDS, various traditional authorities worked with formal counterparts to raise community awareness about the pandemic and ensure that sexual taboos and very specific cultural practices be taken into consideration)