The following women’s health-related issues are the top ones that keep me up at night:
Cancer: Cervical and breast cancers are two of the most prevalent malignancies that strike women. Early detection of these two malignancies is essential to maintaining women’s health and longevity. According to the most recent statistics available worldwide, around 500,000 women lose their lives to breast cancer and 500,000 to cervical cancer annually. In low- and middle-income nations, when screening, prevention, and treatment are almost nonexistent, immunisation against the human papilloma virus is necessary and accounts for the great majority of these deaths.
Reproductive health: For women between the ages of 15 and 44, disorders related to sexual and reproductive health account for one-third of health problems. One significant risk factor is unsafe sexual behaviour, especially for women and girls in underdeveloped nations. For this reason, it is critical to provide services to the 222 million women who do not currently have access to the necessary forms of contraception.
Maternal health: Since the turn of the century, there have been significant advancements in the care provided to expectant mothers and new mothers. However, not everyone benefits from them, and in 2013, pregnancy and childbirth-related problems claimed the lives of about 300,000 women. If family planning and other relatively basic services had been available, the majority of these deaths would have been avoidable.
AIDS: The majority of new HIV infections, thirty years into the AIDS crisis, are occurring in young women. It is still too difficult for too many young women to protect themselves against HIV sexual transmission and to acquire the necessary therapy. They are also more susceptible to TB, which is one of the main causes of mortality for women aged 20 to 59 in low-income nations.
Sexually transmitted Diseases: I’ve already discussed how important it is to guard against HIV and the world’s most common sexually transmitted infection, human papillomavirus (HPV). However, it is also critical to improve the prevention and treatment of illnesses including syphilis, chlamydia, and gonorrhoea. Every year, untreated syphilis causes over 200,000 stillbirths, early foetal deaths, and over 90,000 infant fatalities.
Violence against women: Although there are many various types of violence that women can experience, physical and sexual abuse—whether it comes from a partner or another person—is especially heinous. Currently, one in three women under 50 have been victims of non-partner sexual assault or physical and/or sexual abuse by a partner. These forms of violence have both short- and long-term effects on the victims’ physical and mental health. Health professionals need to be vigilant about violence in order to support those who are impacted by it and contribute to its prevention.
Mental health: Research indicates that anxiety, depression, and somatic complaints—physical symptoms that defy medical explanation—are more common in women than in men. Suicide is the top cause of mortality for women under 60, and depression is the most prevalent mental health issue affecting women. It’s critical to raise women’s awareness of mental health issues and provide them with the self-assurance to ask for help.
Being young: Pregnancy, HIV, and STIs are just a few of the sexual and reproductive health issues that teenage girls must deal with. Every year, almost 13 million teenage girls (under the age of 20) give birth. For those young moms, complications from their pregnancies and deliveries are the main cause of death. Many people experience the aftereffects of unsafe abortion.
Growing older: Compared to their male counterparts, older women may have fewer pensions and benefits, less access to social services and health care, and a history of working from home. When you combine the increased chance of poverty with other age-related diseases, such as dementia, older women are also more vulnerable to abuse and generally worse health.
The globe has come a long way in recent years, I tell myself as I lie awake worrying about women’s health around the world. We are becoming more proficient at using the knowledge we already possess. aimed at giving young females a positive life start.
Additionally, there has been a spike in high-level political will, as seen most recently in the Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health unveiled by the UN Secretary-General. In several nations, the use of services has increased, particularly those related to sexual and reproductive health. Girls’ school enrollment rates and women’s increased political participation are two significant aspects that impact women’s health that have increased globally.
But we haven’t arrived yet. Too many nations still view “women’s empowerment” in 2015 as a pipe dream, little more than a speech-enhancing rhetorical device. Far too many women continue to lose out on the chance to educate themselves, sustain themselves, and get the health care they require when they need it.