Women’s Health at the Core of Resilience

Health systems globally face unprecedented challenges, including rising rates of noncommunicable diseases, aging populations, conflicts, pandemics, and climate change. Their resilience – the ability to absorb, withstand, and recover from such stresses – is increasingly being tested. Women’s health and well-being are essential, as women contribute to health system resilience through their multiple societal roles as mothers, caregivers, and community builders. At the same time, they endure about 25% more years in poor health than men due to persistent gender disparities.

Despite these challenges, significant progress has been made, for example in prevention and early detection. Between 2024 and 2025, approximately 70 million more women accessed potentially life-saving screenings for conditions such as high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, and sexually transmitted infections. Meaningful progress is happening and must be sustained. This session will highlight successful initiatives and explore pathways to scale their impact and strengthen women’s health as a core pillar of resilient health systems globally.

Through bringing together diverse voices – including policymakers, healthcare professionals, civil society organizations, patient advocates, and the private sector – we will examine how to leverage innovation, enhance multi-stakeholder collaboration, and integrate bottom-up approaches to address the diverse health needs of women. Ultimately, the session aims to offer blueprints for building resilient, future-proof health systems and to improve outcomes for all.