|
Since 2000, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has been addressing certain aspects of women’s health, through its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in an effort to spur development by improving social and economic conditions in the world's poorest countries:
- Goal 3 - Promote gender equality and empower women and
- Goal 5 -Improve maternal health, tackle issues of women’s health and wellbeing specifically.
The question we may ask is, “Why is women’s health so important”? The reasons are multifaceted and with many related to socio-cultural factors. Being a man or a woman has a significant impact on health, as a result of both biological and gender-related differences. The health of women and girls is of particular concern because, in many societies, they are disadvantaged by discrimination rooted in socio-cultural factors.
Some of those factors that prevent women and girls to benefit from quality health services and attaining the best possible level of health include:
- Unequal power relationships between men and women;
- Social norms that decrease education and paid employment opportunities;
- An exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles; and
- Potential or actual experience of physical, sexual and emotional violence.
Unequal access to information, care and basic health practices further increases the health risks for women. Factors that prevent women in developing countries from getting the health care they need include distance from health services, cost (direct fees as well as the cost of transportation, drugs, and supplies), multiple demands on their time, and women’s lack of decision-making power within the family. The poor quality of services, including poor treatment by health providers, also makes some women reluctant to use services. Unequal access to information, care and basic health practices further increases the health risks for women.
Discrimination on the basis of their sex leads to many health hazards for women, including physical and sexual violence, sexually-transmitted infections, HIV/AIDS, malaria and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
According to the WHO more than half a million women die from complications in pregnancy and childbirth every year. For every woman who dies, roughly 20 more suffer serious injury or disability. Most of these maternal deaths and injuries are preventable. These losses impact not only on the family and society, but also on the economy.
Ways to address maternal mortality have been to increase the number of skilled birth attendants at births, and to look at provision of services including routine maternal care for all pregnancies, family planning and basic neonatal care and education of women and the communities about the importance of maternal health care and empowering women to make health care decisions and seek medical attention.
Since 2000, the goal of gender equity has been pursued in different scenarios, from gaining more access for girls to attend primary and secondary schooling, to the legal stage whereby women are only legally allowed to marry at the age of 18. Task forces have identified that issues such as guaranteeing sexual and reproductive health rights, rights to property and inheritence, eliminating gender inequality in employment and combating violence against girls and women, will be crucial in the path to obtaining equity and empowerment for women.
Although there have been improvements in maternal and infant mortality rates, these improvements have not been consistent in all countries. Advances in gender equality seem to be difficult to obtain and palpate, however there are success stories scattered throughout the world and there remains hope and determination in seeing these goals through. With less than halfway to go until the MDG deadline of 2015, the rest of world will be watching eagerly.
Sook Ting Lee - Events Coordinator 2009
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Western Australian Medical Students' Society
|