Vital Strategies’ Post

Women spent 25 percent of their lives in poor health than men. And most of these women are in third world countries. In PNG, you dont need statistics like this to understand the state of women's health. These three life changing innovations can definitely change the status of women's health in PNG and the world. #png #womenshealth #healthcare #innovation

Women’s Health.   Great World Economic Forum piece on closing the gender health gap by Anita Zaidi of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which resonates strongly with the XXEquals work of our Kinneir Dufort team. https://lnkd.in/ekHj8jpN   Firstly, her piece highlights long-overdue innovations in contraception. Following United Nations report findings in 2022 that half of all pregnancies globally are unintended (that's over 120 million!), innovations like the Sayana Press self-injected hormonal drug, are providing new ways for women to gain control of their bodies. These type of “one-shot” medications are also part of a trend towards long-acting drug therapies, which address the issue of convenience and compliance, ultimately creating better health outcomes at large population scale.   Secondly, a simple plastic sheet with a collection pocket to measure lost blood, has been successfully trialled to help diagnose postpartum haemorrhaging – the leading cause of maternal morbidity worldwide. The E-MOTIVE package, developed and trialled by the World Health Organization and University of Birmingham demonstrates that simple, low-cost ideas can sometimes be more effective than the most sophisticated AI tool.  PPH is an area of women’s health in which our team at KD have been actively working and we share the enthusiasm for this clever initiative.   Finally, showcasing another “one-shot” innovation – this time a HPV vaccine for cervical cancer - Anita Zaidi powerfully highlights several examples of women’s health inequalities as well as some of the initiatives that the Gates Foundation are seeking to adddress through their investment.    There is still much to do in Women's Health.  Read more about KD’s work in this space: https://lnkd.in/em6_cffG #womenshealth #innovation #design #designingabetterworld

Theano Evangelou thanks for sharing this with me! Here are some interesting facts from the WEF Report January 2024: - Women spend more of their lifetime in poor health than men. One of the reasons is the persistent data gap in women's health, leading to underdiagnosis for certain conditions compared to men. - In 2020, only 1% of healthcare research and innovation was invested in female-specific conditions beyond oncology. - Closing the gap could add $1 trillion to the global economy by 2040. #Investing in women's health #health equity Roberta Romano Sofia Ferreira

Read this great advancements and how they shall change lives!

Women are the backbone of global health, yet they remain underrepresented in leadership roles across governance and decision-making structures. Achieving gender parity in leadership is not only fair—it’s essential for strengthening health systems and reaching global health and gender-related SDGs. Let’s break the barriers, embrace transformative leadership, and ensure women’s voices lead the charge for healthier, more equitable communities. At our recent Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights workshop, our speaker, Heritage Sanmi-Lawal, emphasised the importance of grounding women's leadership in feminism. She highlighted that this approach ensures women in leadership roles actively champion and advocate for policies that prioritise women's needs, rather than undermining them.#WomenInLeadership #HealthForAll #GenderEquality #SDGs"

As world leaders discuss what it will take to achieve #HealthForAll this week at #WHA77, we urge them to recognize that health equity requires gender equity. It's time to expand opportunities for women as professional community health workers, and for women as patients receiving high-quality care. Learn more about our gender work: https://bit.ly/3V1a0KP

It is crucial to highlight the crucial role of women as #proCHWs. These unsung heroes operate at the grassroot level, tirelessly promoting preventive health measures and bridging gaps for those facing barriers to essential care. Empowering women as professional CHWs not only enhances #GenderEquity, but also strengthens #CommunityResilience and wellbeing.

We are, it seems, at a tipping point in having tools to enable all women to have effective birth control. The monumental challenge is to overcome the barrier of accessibility due to the power and control held by patriarchal forces everywhere, from Afghanistan to the United States. Making these tools accessible has the potential to radically shift the ability of women to make gains in other determinants of status and freedom.

While longer life expectancies for men and women have been a societal success story, this is not the full picture. Despite living longer than men, women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health. Health burdens have a heavy impact on women’s lives, with ripple effects for broader society. To address these issues, the World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute have released a new insight report as part of the Forum's Women’s Health Initiative. The report addresses the root causes of the women’s health gap (focused on science, data, care delivery and investment) and charts a number of ways forward to close this gap – from incentivizing new financing models to investing in women-centric research and implementing more inclusive health policies. Addressing the women’s health gap could potentially boost the global economy by at least $1 trillion annually by 2040. Investing in women's health – which is more than just sexual or reproductive health – is therefore not only a matter of health equity, but a chance to help women have expanded workforce participation. Most importantly, it would help them live healthier lives. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Anita Zaidi kudos to you and your teams... 👏 👏 👏 #health #women #wef #vaccines #birthcontrol #pregnancy #childbirth #hpv #developingcountries

How we can take action to reduce Gender Health Gaps using simple tools