Closing the Gender Equality Gap – the New Women's Health Agenda

Traditionally, women's health has been narrowly defined as reproductive health, but women and girls are increasingly advocating for a more comprehensive approach to healthcare that recognizes the gendered inequities within institutions and systems and addresses their experiences of sexual health and wellbeing throughout the life course. Empowerment within the healthcare system remains a major challenge for women globally. There is a blindness to the intersectionality of social, commercial, and political determinants of health and the impact of the power differentials to the experience of all aspects of health at different ages. Health systems need to adopt innovative strategies and new delivery models to be responsive to the epidemiological transitions and changing priorities in the risks to health. Solutions that focus on specific diseases or age groups will not suffice, and bold leadership is required to make policy changes necessary for establishing systems that prioritize women's health issues and promote gender equality as well as the right to health throughout women's lives.

This session will explore the challenges to ensuring holistic services to women and outline how gender-sensitive healthcare policies, interventions, and research can disrupt the current approach and prioritize women's health concerns while ensuring equitable access to healthcare services. The discussion will highlight the importance of taking a holistic and inclusive approach that considers social determinants of health, promotes gender equity, and leverages technology and innovation to improve women's health outcomes.

This panel will explore innovative strategies and interventions that have been successful in addressing women's health needs and discuss policy changes necessary that are gender-sensitive and responsive to the unique health needs and perspectives of women and girls.