WHO, Geneva
8 March 2001

International Women's Day - "Women's Human Rights and Health"

Good morning, friends and colleagues,

I want to thank you all for coming here today.

As you know, International Women's Day is the response to the call, in 1977, by the General Assembly for States to "contribute to creating conditions for the elimination of discrimination against women and for their full and equal participation in social development". The occasion is being celebrated in thousands of different places and in almost as many ways.

Today, as WHO colleagues, we should look at the ways in which our organization contributes to realization of those important goals. I want to reflect upon women's human rights and WHO's mission and responsibility as the lead organization for global health.

As we all know, discrimination is experienced in many forms. It is often based on sex and gender roles. It may result from neglect - or actual violation - of human rights. Whatever the cause, discrimination continues to stand in the way of equitable and just societies.

When gender-based discrimination is combined with poverty, women find it very hard to move away from situations of abuse and exploitation. Discrimination and poverty interact to allow those with power - be they extreme male-dominated governments or village elders and traditional healers - to maintain damaging and discriminatory practices under the guise of cultural or religious tradition. Because good health is hard to maintain within situations of poverty, over-stretched households face additional strains resulting from a high burden of disease. And when women themselves are ill, gender based discrimination may limit their access to dignified, appropriate and effective health care.

More than 70% of the poorest 1.3 billion people of the world are women. Of the 900 million illiterate people, women outnumber men, two to one.

The 20^th century has shown that the poverty and discrimination against women present in many parts of the globe are crippling, debilitating and choice-limiting forces. Furthermore, we have learned that, although poverty and discrimination burden the lives of both women and men, there is little doubt that by most measures and in most places women are more often and more seriously affected. Hence, our main priority must be to eliminate the poverty and discrimination experienced by all peoples, paying particular attention to the experiences of women.

It is clear that health is a fundamental prerequisite for a good life and the ability to support oneself, and for the enjoyment of other human rights.

Of course, the health of women matters, most of all, to women themselves. But it also matters to their families, communities and societies. Indeed, the health of women is a fundamental pillar that underpins sustainable human development.

We should not consider the health of women in isolation. Men, fathers, brothers, husbands, sons are important. Women live in complex social contexts, and gender roles and relations are embedded within that context. In order to improve the health of women, we have to analyse the determinants of women’s health status within the reality of their lives. This is why I am committed to incorporating a gender perspective in health across WHO’s work.

Why is a gender perspective important and what does it mean? A gender perspective focuses on the roles and relations between men and women. It is also important to remember that gender not only refers to the relations between the sexes at the individual, personal level. It also takes into account the values and norms that permeate societies and institutions, organizational systems, including the health and legal systems.

Improving health for women means reducing the chance of dying in child birth so that giving life to a child is not a sacrifice of one's own life as is still the case today. Although the health needs of women are more than their reproductive health, in the developing countries where most women live, their health is strongly influenced by their role as mothers. If we value this role, how can we fail to provide them with the means for safe motherhood? Over half a million women die each year and 20 million suffer illness and other health problems - yet this suffering could be avoided if all women had the assistance of a skilled healthcare worker during delivery. Is it not difficult to provide this simple assistance to all women?

If we are serious about women’s health we must give them the means and right to defend themselves against infection of HIV/AIDS. In 1980 20% of the adults infected with HIV were women. By 1992 that figure had risen to 42%. By the end of the 1999 46% of HIV positive adults were women. In various studies, between 80% and 90% of infected women in ante-natal clinics have been found to have no possible source of infection other than their own husbands. In some parts of Africa infection rates of adolescent girls now run 3 - 6 times higher than boys of the same age. These are unacceptable percentages - a true reflection of gender inequality.

Malaria is particularly dangerous during pregnancy causing severe anaemia and acting as a major contribution factor to maternal death. In parts of Africa where it is common, women are only about 1/2 as likely to survive bouts of the disease when they are pregnant, yet they are more than four times as likely to suffer clinical attacks of malaria during pregnancy than at other times.

Over the past three decades, there has been an increasing push, in individual states and in international fora, for a response to human rights issues - both as an end in itself and as the life blood of other struggles for human development and progress. Rights are inseparable and interrelated, thus violation of one interferes with fulfilment of others.

Recognition that women were systematically excluded from enjoyment of their full human rights gave birth to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1979.

Recently, the Committee charged with responsibility for monitoring implementation of the Convention issued a general recommendation spelling out in considerable detail the meaning of article 12, the article on women and health.

WHO contributed technical assistance to the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This spells out the right to the highest attainable standard of health, and this has been reflected from the inception of WHO within its constitution.

The World Health Organization - by giving priority to the reduction of poverty, to a focus on preventing maternal and childhood conditions, and to scaling up actions that address major diseases linked with poverty, makes a major contribution to the fulfilment of women's human rights.

We also contribute to women's human rights when we address mental health as a major challenge to our societies; when we focus on the impact, responsiveness and fair financing of health systems; when we examine violence - and violence prevention - as a health issue; and when we work, with others, for societies free of tobacco.

Women are more likely to become empowered and be able to take control through changes in legislation, being able to access useful information and being able to benefit from the social and other services that they need. This calls for political action, networks characterised by effective communications, and the redirection of resources.

We did not fully succeed in achieving what was needed in the 20^th century. If we are to do better in the 21^st century, we need stronger political commitment, new resources and new alliances.

We need women to be more involved in the events and processes that shape their lives. A world where men and women were to share more equally in political and economic decision-making calls for greater attention to health, education and social outcomes for all.

Thank you.