Dr. Ewa Iglesias’ Post

WOMEN’S HEALTH GAP 👩💼 McKinsey estimated that #women spend 25% more time in #poor health compared to men – equivalent to seven days per woman per year lost due to poor health or early death.  Being in poor health, for a woman, includes both general health issues and conditions specific to female biology, such as endometriosis and menopause. Women face this issue particularly between the ages of 15 and 50, which clearly affects their productivity at work. The report estimates that addressing the women's health gap could boost the global #economy by at least U$1 trillion. With more women-centric research becoming available and more awareness on the women’s health gap, investments into the women's healthcare market are going up. Data for the past 4 years shows that the sector has attracted USD$2.2 billion in funding, with about 60% of the larger deals specifically addressing conditions such as endometriosis, fertility, and maternal and neonatal health. There is also growing interest in #FemTech. This surge in investments for women’s health startups has surely been significantly influenced by the increase of #womeninvestors who are particularly motivated to address a wider range of women's health issues (beyond the traditional focus on reproductive health) and to improve the representation of women in medical research and innovation. Women’s health startups always generate strong interest among investors at #epicangels What key areas in women's health are you most interested in, and where do you think more focus should be directed?

McKinsey & Company's latest report on women's health highlights the potential for closing the women's health gap to advance health equity and improve the global economy – potentially by $1 TRILLION ANNUALLY by 2040. Working in healthcare PR with a special interest in #femtech, I found this report fascinating. Here are my top 6 takeaways: 🤒 Women spend an average of 9 years of their lives in poor health. This affects their ability to be present and/or productive at home, in the workforce and in the community, and it reduces earning potential. 🤰 Pregnancy complications can lead to chronic illnesses. For example, women who have had gestational diabetes have a 50% of developing Type 2 diabetes 7-10 days after the birth of their child. Good maternal health benefits extend beyond pregnancy and birth. 🔎 Women need to be included in the research and design of innovative therapies, drugs, and devices to ensure they are equitably effective. 💰 Funding for life-sciences research needs to be distributed equitably based on disease burden and unmet needs. ⬆ PE and VC investments in women's health are starting to grow, especially as more femtech start-ups set out to disrupt the market (yay!). 🔟 Addressing just 10 health conditions, including menopause, PMS, anxiety, ischemic heart disease, asthma, and ovarian cancer, could have a significant economic impact. Check out the full McKinsey report for more information. #womenshealth #healthequity #womenatwork

McKinsey’s recent report underscores a staggering reality: closing the women’s health gap represents a $𝟏 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 to not only improve lives but also bolster economies. It’s time for a paradigm shift ! At Red drop LAB., we’re acutely aware of the challenges that women face in healthcare: 𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲: the frequent exclusion of women from biomedical research has led to a cascade of issues, from misdiagnoses to inappropriate treatments and data-gap in women specific conditions. 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲: geographical barriers, financial constraints, invasive procedures, fear of being judged or having their symptoms dismissed, societal taboos, lack of awareness often result in women withdrawing from their healthcare journey. 𝐍𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐨𝐰 𝐅𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬: women's health is too often reduced to reproductive health and pregnancy while only accounting for 5% of women's health burden. 𝐔𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: The lack of funding in women’s health research perpetuates these gaps. But there’s more to the story ! At Red drop LAB., we believe that our ability to collect and collate menstrual blood information at scale will usher in the future for women’s health: 𝐁𝐞𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐝 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝: Menstrual blood is more than just blood ! Menstrual effluent is a valuable, yet underutilized biological material, rich in endometrial tissue, immune cells, microorganisms from the vaginal microbiome and over 300 unique proteins. 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐒𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞: With nearly 2 billion menstruating women worldwide experiencing around 450 cycles in a lifetime, we’re looking at 46 billion liters of blood that can be transformed from waste to wonder. Join us as we turn the tide on women’s health, transforming what was once a taboo into a key for unlocking better health outcomes. Together, we can close the health gap and create a world where every woman’s health is valued and understood.

Women are suffering. A new report from McKinsey & Company focuses on this reality that is incredibly important to the conversation on women's health. That's the good news. We are saying it 📣 out loud and bringing data to substantiate. Now, the bad news: this suffering results from decades of underinvestment in research, treatment development, and access to care. In other words, we have an incredibly large hole to climb out of. A few other ideas from the report particularly really resonated with me as a founder focused on perinatal care. "Good maternal health helps the mother and baby, with benefits extending beyond pregnancy and birth" "A lack of data also leads to potential underestimation of disease severity and health burden, influencing both the care that women receive and the level of innovation and investment in women’s health." And perhaps the most positive conclusion for those of us building in the space: "Given the large unmet need and resulting opportunity, those who continue to forgo investing in women’s health may find themselves left behind by the players that tap into this high-potential market." The idea that women should not be suffering as they build their families is one of the core motivators for the work we do here at Partum Health. It's time to change our thinking on dealing with leaking urine due to pelvic floor dysfunction, white knuckling through anxiety or depression without proper screening or care, struggling with the challenges of breastfeeding without proactive help, etc. The list goes on. Please read the report (all 42 pages!) and think about how you can encourage addressing this gap - invest, advocate for improved benefits, weave this understanding into workplace policies, join those of us building in the space, or even donate. https://lnkd.in/gVPNSNBW

If the moral imperative of addressing women's and girls' health needs and closing the health gap is not enough to spur action, maybe the economic argument will hold sway? We have known for decades that 1. women and girls have a higher burden of ill-health despite the fact that they live longer than men; 2. women and girls are disproportionately affected by some health problems or experience different symptoms, reactions to treatment, and outcomes to health problems that affect both women and men; and 3. experience sex-specific health issues that are under-studied and under-invested in, not only related to pregnancy and childbirth, but across the life course. We have also known that women and girls face sex and gender-specific barriers to health, that impact their ability to access care and the quality of care that they do receive, often resulting in worse health outcomes. Yet despite it all, there continues to be resistance to collecting sex and gender-disaggregated data and researching and investing in specific interventions to address sex and gender-specific health problems and differences, and related barriers to care, such as a lack of decision-making power and bodily autonomy. This resistance extends to major global health organizations, where addressing women's and girls' health and gender-related health inequalities is often viewed by decision-makers as a "nice-to-have" rather than an essential component of effective health programs. Some of it is political, driven by a fear of upsetting regressive governments or religious actors who benefit from women's and girls' lack of agency and bodily autonomy. Some of it stems from women's continued lack of leadership in health. But regardless the cause, we know what we need to do. What will it take to actually close the gap?

Did you know that --While women live longer than men, they spend 25% more of their lives in debilitating health. -- Most of women’s health burden stems from conditions that affect both women and men. But many health conditions are more prevalent or manifest differently in women. The women’s health gap now equates to 75 million years of lost life due to poor health or early deaths per year.  —That dddressing the gaps and shortcomings in women’s health could reduce the time women spend in poor health by almost two-thirds, which would help 3.9 billion women live healthier, higher-quality lives.   —In a seminal new 'Insights to Impact McKinsey & Company report out today in #Davos at World Economic Forum's 54th annual meeting, my colleagues Kweilin Ellingrud, Lucy Perez, Anouk Petersen and Valentina Sartori note that taking action could: --Add seven more days of healthy living for each woman annually --Add at least $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040 --Generate the equivalent impact of 137 million women accessing full-time positions by 2040 What is the cause of this problem, you wonder? — The gap in women’s health can be attributed to four causes: science (the study of biology defaults to the male body), care delivery (women are more likely to face barriers to care), lack of investment, and insufficient data. What needs to be done, you ask? To improve health equity and foster economic growth, stakeholders need to develop a cooperative and comprehensive strategy, with these elements: --Invest in women-centric research to fill the knowledge and data gaps in women-specific conditions, as well as in diseases affecting women differently, disproportionately, or both. --Systematically collect and analyse sex-, ethnicity- and gender-specific data to have more accurate representation of women’s health burden and the impact of different interventions. --Enhance access to gender-specific care, from prevention to diagnosis and treatment. --Incentivize new financing models. --Establish business policies that support women’s health. The summary and full 42-page report edited by McKinsey Global Publishing colleague and Executive Editor Elizabeth Newman for our McKinsey Health Institute (MHI) is here for you to read, download and share for free: https://lnkd.in/dMDSTH27 And engage us #McKinseyAtDavos #WEF2024 #WEF, especially with my The Forum of Young Global Leaders colleague and McKinsey MHI leader, Megan Greenfield, Ph.D., on this vital issue that has galvanized a lot of interest in Davos this year, including from pioneers in advocating for this topic, our friends at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The McKinsey's report on closing the gap in women's health was such an interesting and insightful read. Lucy Perez and Valentina Sartori also participated to Merck's global event “Inspiring Inclusion: Investing in Women’s Health and Wellbeing” alongside Amy Kao, Jutta Reinhard-Rupp and Megan Greenfield to explain the major myths in women's health. Something new I learned is that there is a misnomer in society that women's health only encompasses women's reproductive health. This in an incomplete vision as women are differently and disproportionately affected in other conditions as well, including cardiovascular and autoimmune diseases.  Biologically, women are not smaller men, and a deeper understanding of the basic science is an essential step to close the health gap. In Amy's words, spread the word, be a myth buster, be empowered with good research. Ultimately, this is not a women's issue; it's everyone's issue - it's basic health. 

New research from McKinsey Health Institute highlights the staggering inequalities that still exist around women's health, and the huge opportunities that increased education, innovation and investment in this area can bring — both in terms of health equity, and global economic output. Some standout stats: 📈 Women are predicted to spend 25% more time in poor health than men in their life time 📊 When compared with men, women are more likely to face disadvantages for interventions due to lack of access, lower effectiveness, or both - 64% vs 10% 📉 There is evidence of significant and systematic differences in diagnostic assessments between men and women - a study showed women wait 2.5 more years on average to be diagnosed with cancer, and 4.5 years for diabetes 📈 Despite women being more frequent users of health services overall, women who present the same condition as men often do not receive the same evidence-based care 📊 Every day in 2020, approximately 800 women died from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth - one death every 2 minutes 📉 Addressing the health gap women face could boost the global economy by adding at least $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040 - for every $1 invested, approximately $3 is projected in economic growth #healthequity #womenshealth #innovation

McKinsey & Company's latest report, "Closing the Women’s Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies," sheds light on the critical intersection between women's health and global prosperity, emphasizing how addressing the health gap presents not just an ethical imperative but an opportunity to enhance lives and economies worldwide. At DP World, we're not just witnessing the impact; we're actively contributing to bridging this gap. From pioneering nurse-led healthcare models in South Africa with Unjani Clinics to partnering with the Senegalese League Against Cancer to combat cervical cancer, our initiatives underscore our commitment to empowering women and ensuring equitable healthcare access. Investing in women's health is investing in a better future for all. It's about building healthier communities, driving economic growth, and unlocking the full potential of half the world's population. Let's continue to push boundaries, challenge the status quo, and make health equity a reality. Thank you, Maha AlQattan, for shining light on this critical topic. #WomensHealth #GlobalProsperity #SustainableDevelopment #DPWorld #HealthcareEquity

The latest McKinsey Health Institute and World Economic Forum report 'Closing the women's health gap' has highlighted what many of us in the women's health space have known for some time - women's health is NOT a niche. The absence of meaningful action in this area of medicine and policy has resulted in women spending an average of nine years in ill-health (that's 25% more than men do) - mostly within their highly productive and active years. At Metluma we're encouraged to see the long overdue focus on this and in particular menopause which has profound impact on both women's lives, the community and the economy. In fact, the report notes that economic growth over the past 70 years has been closely tied to women’s increased labour force participation. We're excited to see a shift in focus from just mortality rates to also incorporating quality of life considerations, with the burden of menopause estimated to have a $120M GDP impact. Like it or not, we know that decisions around healthcare policy and research funding are intrinsically linked to economic drivers. Lucky for women, there's plenty of upside presented - it's hard to argue with 3x return for every dollar spent on women's health investment. And as for unlocking a $1Trillion global economy benefit by 2040? That's a tidy little sum for the balance sheet!  #womenshealth #globalbenefit #inclusion https://lnkd.in/eH4rT6fk