Did you know that every $1 invested in improving women’s health could generate $3 for the economy?

That’s right, just $1 could pave the way to women’s good health for seven more days a year.

That amounts to more than 500 days over a lifetime.

These findings come from a groundbreaking study by the World Bank and the Global Health Workforce Alliance.

Apologies if you tuned in to part one of this series, where we covered this in more depth, and we are repeating ourselves.

Anyway, back to business: the publication of this research coincided with the launch of the Global Alliance for Women’s Health. This is a multi-stakeholder platform which is committed to changing the way women’s health is funded and closing the women’s health gap.

As it stands, 42 organisations have already signed up to support the alliance, pledging $55 million in investment.

So, as we mark an important milestone this 2nd of July, (the 14th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly unanimously voting to create a single body dedicated to accelerating progress in achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment), let’s first delve into the specific health challenges women face, and then look at what we can all do to address them.

Women’s perpetual health challenges

Women still face many inequalities in access to healthcare: be it a lack of access to basic services or neglect of diseases that habitually impact them during their working lives.

The most common diseases affecting women today include:

• Cardiovascular diseases: The leading cause of death for women worldwide, but often underdiagnosed and poorly treated.
• Breast cancer: The most common cancer in women, but mortality rates vary widely between countries, depending on access to early and quality treatment.
• Mental health: Women are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety than men, but often do not receive adequate treatment.

The health gap explained

As a result of several biological, social and behavioural factors, women’s health journeys will differ significantly from those of men.

Let’s break them down further because understanding these differences is crucial for improving early diagnosis and quality of life for women.

• Biological differences:

Men and women have significant hormonal differences. For example, men have more testosterone, which is an anabolic hormone, while women have more oestrogen, which increases fat storage. Additionally, women go through several unique biological phases, such as menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause, which can have far-reaching or negative health implications.

• Social and behavioural differences:

Gender norms, roles, and relationships lead to differences between men and women in terms of exposure to risk factors or vulnerability, household investment in nutrition, care and education, access and use of health services, and experiences in health care settings.

You may remember, that in the previous article, we explored the women’s role as predominant caregivers in society.

It is this imbalance in responsibilities and increased demand on their time that often leads to women experiencing high levels of stress, exhaustion and ultimately, the neglect of their own health needs.

The subsequent limitations on their inability to earn also impact their access to preventative care or treatment, as they are simply unaffordable.

Reshaping the future of women’s health

There are many things we can do to start transforming women’s health; from individual actions to broader public policies. The following should and must be a priority in the years to come:

• Ensuring universal access to healthcare.
• Combatting violence against women in all its forms.
• Promoting gender equality in all areas of life.
• Investing in women’s education and empowerment.
• Breaking taboos and stigmas surrounding women’s health.

Governments, businesses and individuals:
We can all help women become powerhouses of the global economy

We cannot re-iterate often enough, that addressing the women’s health gap is in all our interests. So let’s take a deeper look at the ways we can all empower women.

Beginning with those who have decision-making powers at their fingertips: governments desperately need to invest in free quality healthcare services for women.

We are not just talking about reproductive health either.

Mental health and disease prevention, at the very least, have to be given equal weight when it comes to the allocation of funding.

Businesses for their part should be offering extended maternity and paternity leave, on-site childcare, and other benefits that support working women.

Finally, as individuals, we have an important advocacy role to play. We can raise awareness about the health inequalities that affect women and the steps that are needed to address them.

That begins with educating ourselves about the issue, talking to friends and family, and supporting organisations that are working to improve women’s health.

You have heard the old saying: talk is cheap.

Well, when it comes to improving women’s health and generating a positive impact on the global economy; it is literally worth trillions of dollars.

The more we talk about the issue, the more attention it gets, and the more likely governments and businesses are to take steps to change the global picture. What is not seen, heard, or read is not remembered.

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