World Health Day 2006

April 7, 2006—Women worldwide have reason for both optimism and concern on World Health Day this year.

The good news is that on average women and girls are healthier and live longer than their mothers did 30 years ago. But this progress has been uneven.

In the United States, a girl born today can expect to live to be 80 years old. In Botswana, her life expectancy will be 35.

The major threats to women’s lives in developing countries today are HIV/AIDS and health risks associated with pregnancy and childbirth. To improve women’s health, international organizations, national governments and community organizations must make these issues a priority.

Maternal health has not improved for over a decade. Each year, over 500,000 women die due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth. That’s one woman every minute.

More than 17 million women are living with HIV/AIDS, and women’s rates of new HIV infection now surpass men’s. This is especially true in poorer nations. In sub-Saharan Africa, women make up 57 percent of adults living with the disease. Young women age 15 to 24 in that region are three times more likely to be HIV positive than young men.

Despite these daunting challenges, there are some solutions at hand.

Simple, cost-effective investments can drastically reduce the risk women face in childbirth. The World Health Organization estimates that less than two-thirds of women in less developed countries are assisted by skilled attendants during childbirth. According to the UN Population Fund, many couples still do not have access to family planning services that could help women space their pregnancies to healthier intervals.

To fight AIDS, women must be made a priority in prevention, care and treatment efforts. Women are at the center of the pandemic; they must be at the center of efforts to halt the disease.

International organizations, governments and community organizations should engage the leadership and voices of individual women and women’s groups and networks to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, deal with its consequences and care for those affected.

Prevention efforts should include comprehensive programs that include public education, condom distribution and equal access to reproductive health care and treatment for women and girls.

Governments should also address the factors that contribute to women and girls’ increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, including the rights and status of women and girls. This includes defending and expanding women’s rights to education, training, access to labor markets, technical assistance, credit and inheritance of land and property, as well as to equality with men under the law.

For more information, read about CEDPA’s approach to improving the health and well-being of women and girls.

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