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Good morning, friends and colleagues,
We are here to mark this year's International
Women's Day, to celebrate the progress that has been made in fighting
discrimination against women and working for equal rights
participation of women and the development of communities and nations,
indeed in our globalized world.
We all know that this progress has been highly
uneven. This year, our focus is on women in Health and development and
we will look in particular at the situation for women in Afghanistan.
It was not by chance that the Secretary-General chose to use the
example of the future of a newborn girl in Afghanistan in his
acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize.
That speech was about the challenges we, as a world
community, face.
Our Secretary-General laid out for us, clearly and
squarely, what we must do in order for all to be able to live in a
safe and just world without extreme poverty.
As we all know, discrimination is central in this
scenario. It is often based on sex and gender roles. It may result
from neglect - or actual violation - of human rights. No doubt,
discrimination continues to stand in the way of equitable and just
societies.
We at WHO are all fortunate in that we have the
chance to work on issues of health and development every day. Through
our work, we are each and one of us able to contribute towards a
better world. Together, we can make a difference.
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.
Women's issues are intrinsically linked with
poverty and poverty carries a woman's face. Three out of four of the
poorest billion people of the world are women.
In many countries, women own nothing, inherit
nothing and earn nothing. Discrimination combined with poverty also
prevent women from getting out of situations of abuse and
exploitation. Poverty leads to ill-health, additional strain on
already over-stretched households, and ill-health leads to poverty.
When women are ill, gender based discrimination further limit their
access to care and treatment.
Societies will only be able to prosper, and emerge
from poverty, if their women enjoy better health. Investing in health
makes good economic sense. Investing in women makes even better
economic sense.
Improving women’s health means reducing the
risk of dying when giving life to a child. Women’s health is
strongly influenced by their role as mothers. Still, we fail to
provide so many with the means for safe motherhood. Over half a
million women die each year. Twenty million suffer disability. Yet
much of this suffering could be avoided if all women at least had the
help of a skilled health worker during delivery.
Improving women’s health means ensuring women
the right to protect themselves against infection with HIV. In 1980,
20 per cent of the adults infected with HIV were women. Ten years
later, that figure had doubled. Now, nearly half of adults living with
HIV are women. Most staggering of all is the evidence that in some
parts of Africa infection rates of adolescent girls now run 3 - 6
times higher than boys of the same age. It is a glaring example of
gender inequality and the exploitation of girls. Changes in attitude
and sexual practices are the answer. Young people need the information
and means to protect themselves, and people affected must receive care
and protection.
Improving women’s health means speaking out
against all forms of violence: female genital mutilation, trafficking,
domestic violence, rape and sexual abuse. Two years ago, the US
Secretary of State Madeleine Allbright said it as it is:
"these practices are not cultural, they are criminal".
Improving women’s health means making sure
that women get the attention and care that they need.
The experience of the last five years indicates
that too many governments do not see improvements in women’s health
as a priority, despite the goals set in Cairo and Beijing.
In WHO we have analysed 121 country reports on
activities on the Beijing Platform for Action. Less than half of the
reports identified women’s health as a national priority. Some
countries did not report on women’s health at all. All countries
should do better than that!
To make change, it will take investment in people,
in education, in health systems that reach all and that are responsive
to the needs of women.
Friends,
There is no way we can overcome poverty and gender
discrimination if we do not take the health of girls and women
seriously. We need to take a comprehensive look at the health of women
throughout the life cycle and take up the challenge of new issues that
need global attention.
The Commission on Macroeconomics and Health has
provided us with an impressive agenda for investments in health. Their
Report highly focuses on the importance of investing in maternal
health. But we all know: women will greatly benefit from a scaling up
of investment in health.
For women to fully benefit from improved health
services, we must also fight the discrimination that prevents women
from making use of them. We must empower women so that they are able
to make healthy choices for themselves and their children.
Yesterday, Cabinet approved the WHO policy for
integrating gender perspectives into all of our work.
I look forward to our discussion today, and to
continue working together to improve the lives and choices of women.
Thank you.
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