Like today, March 8, International Women's Day is celebrated every year. On this occasion, which is one of the largest global celebrations in the world, Dr. Flavia Bustreo, Assistant General Manager for Family, Women and Children Health through the Life -course) of the World Health Organization (WHO), lists the most important health problems that concern women worldwide today.
International Women's Day is inextricably linked to the Declaration and Action Plan signed in Beijing in 1995. Twenty years later, women around the world still face many health problems and the WHO is determined to take new action to address them.
International Women's Day: Check out the top ten women's global health issues, according to Dr. Bustreo:
Cancer: Two of the most common cancers in women are breast cancer and cervical cancer. Early detection of these cancers is key to women's chances of survival. The latest global figures show that about half a million women die from cervical cancer and another half a million from breast cancer each year. The vast majority of these deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, where screening, prevention and treatment are almost non-existent and where human papillomavirus vaccination needs to be implemented immediately.
Reproductive health: Sexual and reproductive health problems account for one third of all health problems for women between the ages of 15 and 44. Unsafe sex is a major risk factor, especially among women and girls in developing countries. That is why it is so important to get the proper medical care to the 222 million women who do not have access to the contraceptive services they need.
Maternal health: Many women now benefit from the massive improvements in care during pregnancy and childbirth, as they have developed over the last century. But these benefits do not extend everywhere, and in 2013, nearly 300.000 women died from complications during pregnancy and childbirth. Most of these deaths could have been avoided if women had access to family planning services and basic hospital care.
AIDS / HIV: Three decades after the discovery and spread of the AIDS virus (HIV), young women carry the bulk of new HIV infections. Too many young women are still struggling to protect themselves against HIV transmission and get the treatment they need. This leaves them particularly vulnerable to tuberculosis, one of the leading causes of death for women aged 20-59 in low-income countries.
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STDs): The importance of protecting against HIV and human papillomavirus (HPV), which is the most common STD in the world, has been mentioned previously. But it is also vital to improve the prevention and treatment of diseases such as gonorrhea, chlamydia and syphilis. Syphilis, when left untreated, is responsible for more than 200.000 stillbirths and premature fetal deaths each year, as well as the deaths of more than 90.000 newborns worldwide.
Violence against women: Many women are subject to a number of different forms of violence, but physical and sexual violence are the most important of them. Today, one in three women under the age of 50 has been physically and / or sexually abused by a man in her lifetime, or has experienced non-sexual violence that affects her physical and mental health, both in the short and long term. It is important for doctors around the world to be on the lookout for signs of violence in the women they examine, so that they can help prevent the phenomenon, as well as provide support to those who have a particular problem.
Mental health: Evidence shows that women are more prone than men to the effects of stress, depression and physical symptoms of mental illness, which can not be explained medically. Depression is the most common mental health problem for women and suicide is the leading cause of death for women under 60 who have mental health problems.
Non-communicable diseases: In 2012, some 4,7 million women died of non-communicable diseases before reaching the age of 70, mostly in low- and middle-income countries. They died as a result of car accidents, smoking, abuse of alcohol, drugs and substances, as well as obesity. It is typical that over 50% of women are overweight in Europe and the USA.
Young recklessness: Adolescent girls face a number of sexual and reproductive health challenges, such as sexually transmitted diseases, HIV, and early pregnancy. About 13 million teenage girls (under the age of 20) give birth each year. Complications from these pregnancies and childbirth are a major cause of death for young mothers. Many also suffer from the consequences of unprofessional abortions.
Aging problems: Because many women stay home and take care of the family, when they grow up they may have less pension and other benefits, as well as less access to health care and social services compared to their male counterparts. If you add to this increased risk of poverty, other physiological effects of aging, such as dementia, then we understand that older women have a higher risk of abuse and generally worse health than men.
International Women's Day: General Truths…
The world has made great progress in recent years. We know more and better apply our knowledge to give young girls a good start in life. The use of some services, especially those for sexual and reproductive health, has increased in some countries. Two important factors affecting women's health, such as school enrollment rates and women's increased political participation in decision-making institutions, have increased in many parts of the world.
But we still have a way to go. In 2015, in many countries, the "emancipation of women" is still a problem. Too many women still ignore the opportunity to get an education and have the health services they need when they need them.
That is why the WHO, in cooperation with the UN and other international bodies, is meeting with the UN Commission on the Status of Women at the conference, which starts tomorrow, March 9, and will run until the 20th of the month, in New York. . It will review the commitments made in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and the related Action Plan, with a view to renewing the global effort to end inequalities for women worldwide.
Source: iatropedia.gr