For many years, public policies and science have ignored women's health , both in terms of understanding biology and the social factors that affect their access to health care at every stage, from prevention, diagnosis, to treatment. In contrast, according to the panelists participating in the Roche Press Day , dedicated to Women, Health and Equality, if we achieve favorable conditions, we can found and replicate healthy societies, environments and families, because we continue to be primarily responsible for the care of all vulnerable groups (children, the elderly and the disabled), hence the importance of promoting action for the care of women's health.
Today, health policies do not address the needs of women , even though equality would mean a global economic growth of 12 billion dollars. Studies by the Inter-American Development Bank show that 63% of women's time is dedicated to unpaid work, and on average, women spend 40 hours a week caring for children under 3 years of age, compared to 16 hours a week for men.
The message is clear: “Women’s disparities in access to health care have an impact on society as a whole.” For this reason, Joanne Manrique , president of the Center for Global Health and Development ( CGHD ) in Maryland, United States, presented evidence that demonstrates the need to change the models of care for women’s health.
To begin with, the Covid-19 pandemic caused more than 64 million women to lose their jobs in 2020, resulting in a loss of income of more than 800 billion dollars in the Latin American region.
In addition, 118 million women and girls in the region fell into the informal economy , which translates into difficulties in effectively accessing education and health, reducing their life expectancy.
As an example, “almost 90% of cervical cancer cases worldwide occur in low- and middle-income countries, and mortality rates from this pathology are three times higher in Latin America and the Caribbean than in North America,” meaning that in many cases the disease is entirely conditioned by the level of education, income, age, ethnic origin and access to health services.
There are more examples of inequality. According to the World Health Organization ( WHO ), more than 800 women still die every day during pregnancy and childbirth, mainly in sub-Saharan Africa; violence against women remains devastating and widespread, affecting one in three women worldwide; and depression is twice as common among women as among men.
Supporting gender-sensitive investments
Manrique shares that research in emerging markets has shown that women's illness and death have a dramatic negative impact on family health and on children's socialization and education. Therefore, "we need to redefine economic models so that women have financial support for their health, even when they are not working."
The specialist says that today we need to promote access to health by investing in combined financing, that is, coordinating public and private resources to care for the population.
The World Economic Forum recently confirmed the lack of access to finance as one of the main obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs from marginalized communities around the world. The paradox is that even when women entrepreneurs, for example, generate higher incomes in their country, they have fewer opportunities for support.
Today, more than 80% of companies owned by women have unmet credit needs, which translates into a financing deficit of close to 2 billion dollars and, with it, problems for health coverage for millions of working women.
Marked inequalities in health personnel
Finally, Manrique added that an important aspect of the ecosystem is to address the needs of health personnel, initially for a clear reason: 70% of health personnel are women, who were the ones who faced the health emergency caused by Covid-19.
In contrast, the World Health Organization presented its 2022 report on health workers in September. It reveals that globally, less than 20% are in management positions. It also explains that women in the health sector earn 24% less than men and that we are 140 years away from achieving true representation of women in leadership positions in health.
Manrique concludes that it is urgent to promote systemic change in many areas, such as communication, policy formulation and research funding so that women can access the information, diagnosis, treatment and care they need, when they need it. “These obstacles that my grandmother faced 50 years ago are still there. We need to identify them and unite all actors to advocate for women's health and together find solutions.”
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Roche Press Day. Photo EE: Courtesy
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