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The United Nations
Fourth World Conference on Women
Beijing, China - September 1995
Action for Equality, Development and Peace
PLATFORM FOR ACTION
Strategic objective C.1. Increase women's access throughout the life cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality health care, information and related services. Actions to be taken.Strategic objective C.2. Strengthen preventive programmes that promote women's heath. Actions to be taken.Strategic objective C.3. Undertake gender-sensitive initiatives that address sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS, and sexual and reproductive health issues. Actions to be taken.Strategic objective C.4. Promote research and disseminate information on women's health. Actions to be takenStrategic objective C.5. Increase resources and monitor follow-up for women's health. Actions to be taken.
Women and Health follow-up (Under construction)
C. Women and Health
- Women have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standardof
physical and mental health. The enjoyment of this right is vital
to their
life and well-being and their ability to participate in all areas
of public
and private life. Health is a state of complete physical, mental
and social
well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Women's health
involves their emotional, social and physical well-being and is
determined by
the social, political and economic context of their lives, as well
as by
biology. However, health and well-being elude the majority of
women. A major
barrier for women to the achievement of the highest attainable
standard of
health is inequality, both between men and women and among women in
different
geographical regions, social classes and indigenous and ethnic
groups. In
national and international forums, women have emphasized that to
attain
optimal health throughout the life cycle, equality, including the
sharing of
family responsibilities, development and peace are necessary
conditions.
- Women have different and unequal access to and use of basic
health
resources, including primary health services for the prevention and
treatment
of childhood diseases, malnutrition, anaemia, diarrhoeal diseases,
communicable diseases, malaria and other tropical diseases and
tuberculosis,
among others. Women also have different and unequal opportunities
for the
protection, promotion and maintenance of their health. In many
developing
countries, the lack of emergency obstetric services is also of
particular
concern. Health policies and programmes often perpetuate gender
stereotypes
and fail to consider socio-economic disparities and other
differences among
women and may not fully take account of the lack of autonomy of
women
regarding their health. Women's health is also affected by gender
bias in the
health system and by the provision of inadequate and inappropriate
medical
services to women.
- In many countries, especially developing countries, in
particular the
least developed countries, a decrease in public health spending
and, in some
cases, structural adjustment, contribute to the deterioration of
public health
systems. In addition, privatization of health-care systems without
appropriate guarantees of universal access to affordable health
care further
reduces health-care availability. This situation not only directly
affects
the health of girls and women, but also places disproportionate
responsibilities on women, whose multiple roles, including their
roles within
the family and the community, are often not acknowledged; hence
they do not
receive the necessary social, psychological and economic support.
- Women's right to the enjoyment of the highest standard of
health must be
secured throughout the whole life cycle in equality with men.
Women are
affected by many of the same health conditions as men, but women
experience
them differently. The prevalence among women of poverty and
economic
dependence, their experience of violence, negative attitudes
towards women and
girls, racial and other forms of discrimination, the limited power
many women
have over their sexual and reproductive lives and lack of influence
in
decision-making are social realities which have an adverse impact
on their
health. Lack of food and inequitable distribution of food for
girls and women
in the household, inadequate access to safe water, sanitation
facilities and
fuel supplies, particularly in rural and poor urban areas, and
deficient
housing conditions, all overburden women and their families and
have a
negative effect on their health. Good health is essential to
leading a
productive and fulfilling life, and the right of all women to
control all
aspects of their health, in particular their own fertility, is
basic to their
empowerment.
- Discrimination against girls, often resulting from son
preference, in
access to nutrition and health-care services endangers their
current and
future health and well-being. Conditions that force girls into
early
marriage, pregnancy and child-bearing and subject them to harmful
practices,
such as female genital mutilation, pose grave health risks.
Adolescent girls
need, but too often do not have, access to necessary health and
nutrition
services as they mature. Counselling and access to sexual and
reproductive
health information and services for adolescents are still
inadequate or
lacking completely, and a young woman's right to privacy,
confidentiality,
respect and informed consent is often not considered. Adolescent
girls are
both biologically and psychosocially more vulnerable than boys to
sexual
abuse, violence and prostitution, and to the consequences of
unprotected and
premature sexual relations. The trend towards early sexual
experience,
combined with a lack of information and services, increases the
risk of
unwanted and too early pregnancy, HIV infection and other sexually
transmitted
diseases, as well as unsafe abortions. Early child-bearing
continues to be an
impediment to improvements in the educational, economic and social
status of
women in all parts of the world. Overall, for young women early
marriage and
early motherhood can severely curtail educational and employment
opportunities
and are likely to have a long-term, adverse impact on the quality
of their
lives and the lives of their children. Young men are often not
educated to
respect women's self-determination and to share responsibility with
women in
matters of sexuality and reproduction.
- Reproductive health is a state of complete physical, mental and
social
well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in
all matters
relating to the reproductive system and to its functions and
processes.
Reproductive health therefore implies that people are able to have
a
satisfying and safe sex life and that they have the capability to
reproduce
and the freedom to decide if, when and how often to do so.
Implicit in this
last condition are the right of men and women to be informed and to
have
access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of
family
planning of their choice, as well as other methods of their choice
for
regulation of fertility which are not against the law, and the
right of access
to appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go
safely
through pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best
chance of
having a healthy infant. In line with the above definition of
reproductive
health, reproductive health care is defined as the constellation of
methods,
techniques and services that contribute to reproductive health and
well-being
by preventing and solving reproductive health problems. It also
includes
sexual health, the purpose of which is the enhancement of life and
personal
relations, and not merely counselling and care related to
reproduction and
sexually transmitted diseases.
- Bearing in mind the above definition, reproductive rights
embrace certain
human rights that are already recognized in national laws,
international human
rights documents and other consensus documents. These rights rest
on the
recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to
decide freely
and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children
and to have
the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the
highest
standard of sexual and reproductive health. It also includes their
right to
make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination,
coercion and
violence, as expressed in human rights documents. In the exercise
of this
right, they should take into account the needs of their living and
future
children and their responsibilities towards the community. The
promotion of
the responsible exercise of these rights for all people should be
the
fundamental basis for government- and community-supported policies
and
programmes in the area of reproductive health, including family
planning. As
part of their commitment, full attention should be given to the
promotion of
mutually respectful and equitable gender relations and particularly
to meeting
the educational and service needs of adolescents to enable them to
deal in a
positive and responsible way with their sexuality. Reproductive
health eludes
many of the world's people because of such factors as: inadequate
levels of
knowledge about human sexuality and inappropriate or poor-quality
reproductive
health information and services; the prevalence of high-risk sexual
behaviour;
discriminatory social practices; negative attitudes towards women
and girls;
and the limited power many women and girls have over their sexual
and
reproductive lives. Adolescents are particularly vulnerable
because of their
lack of information and access to relevant services in most
countries. Older
women and men have distinct reproductive and sexual health issues
which are
often inadequately addressed.
- The human rights of women include their right to have control
over and
decide freely and responsibly on matters related to their
sexuality, including
sexual and reproductive health, free of coercion, discrimination
and violence.
Equal relationships between women and men in matters of sexual
relations and
reproduction, including full respect for the integrity of the
person, require
mutual respect, consent and shared responsibility for sexual
behaviour and its
consequences.
- Further, women are subject to particular health risks due to
inadequate
responsiveness and lack of services to meet health needs related to
sexuality
and reproduction. Complications related to pregnancy and
childbirth are among
the leading causes of mortality and morbidity of women of
reproductive age in
many parts of the developing world. Similar problems exist to a
certain
degree in some countries with economies in transition. Unsafe
abortions
threaten the lives of a large number of women, representing a grave
public
health problem as it is primarily the poorest and youngest who take
the
highest risk. Most of these deaths, health problems and injuries
are
preventable through improved access to adequate health-care
services,
including safe and effective family planning methods and emergency
obstetric
care, recognizing the right of women and men to be informed and to
have access
to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family
planning of
their choice, as well as other methods of their choice for
regulation of
fertility which are not against the law, and the right of access to
appropriate health-care services that will enable women to go
safely through
pregnancy and childbirth and provide couples with the best chance
of having a
healthy infant. These problems and means should be addressed on
the basis of
the report of the International Conference on Population and
Development, with
particular reference to relevant paragraphs of the Programme of
Action of the
Conference. [14] In most countries, the neglect of women's
reproductive rights
severely limits their opportunities in public and private life,
including
opportunities for education and economic and political empowerment.
The
ability of women to control their own fertility forms an important
basis for
the enjoyment of other rights. Shared responsibility between women
and men in
matters related to sexual and reproductive behaviour is also
essential to
improving women's health.
- HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, the
transmission of
which is sometimes a consequence of sexual violence, are having a
devastating
effect on women's health, particularly the health of adolescent
girls and
young women. They often do not have the power to insist on safe
and
responsible sex practices and have little access to information and
services
for prevention and treatment. Women, who represent half of all
adults newly
infected with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases,
have
emphasized that social vulnerability and the unequal power
relationships
between women and men are obstacles to safe sex, in their efforts
to control
the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. The consequences of
HIV/AIDS
reach beyond women's health to their role as mothers and caregivers
and their
contribution to the economic support of their families. The
social,
developmental and health consequences of HIV/AIDS and other
sexually
transmitted diseases need to be seen from a gender perspective.
- Sexual and gender-based violence, including physical and
psychological
abuse, trafficking in women and girls, and other forms of abuse and
sexual
exploitation place girls and women at high risk of physical and
mental trauma,
disease and unwanted pregnancy. Such situations often deter women
from using
health and other services.
- Mental disorders related to marginalization, powerlessness and
poverty,
along with overwork and stress and the growing incidence of
domestic violence
as well as substance abuse, are among other health issues of
growing concern
to women. Women throughout the world, especially young women, are
increasing
their use of tobacco with serious effects on their health and that
of their
children. Occupational health issues are also growing in
importance, as a
large number of women work in low-paid jobs in either the formal or
the
informal labour market under tedious and unhealthy conditions, and
the number
is rising. Cancers of the breast and cervix and other cancers of
the
reproductive system, as well as infertility affect growing numbers
of women
and may be preventable, or curable, if detected early.
- With the increase in life expectancy and the growing number of
older
women, their health concerns require particular attention. The
long-term
health prospects of women are influenced by changes at menopause,
which, in
combination with life-long conditions and other factors, such as
poor
nutrition and lack of physical activity, may increase the risk of
cardiovascular disease and osteoporosis. Other diseases of ageing
and the
interrelationships of ageing and disability among women also need
particular
attention.
- Women, like men, particularly in rural areas and poor urban
areas, are
increasingly exposed to environmental health hazards owing to
environmental
catastrophes and degradation. Women have a different
susceptibility to
various environmental hazards, contaminants and substances and they
suffer
different consequences from exposure to them.
- The quality of women's health care is often deficient in
various ways,
depending on local circumstances. Women are frequently not treated
with
respect, nor are they guaranteed privacy and confidentiality, nor
do they
always receive full information about the options and services
available.
Furthermore, in some countries, over-medicating of women's life
events is
common, leading to unnecessary surgical intervention and
inappropriate
medication.
- Statistical data on health are often not systematically
collected,
disaggregated and analysed by age, sex and socio-economic status
and by
established demographic criteria used to serve the interests and
solve the
problems of subgroups, with particular emphasis on the vulnerable
and
marginalized and other relevant variables. Recent and reliable
data on the
mortality and morbidity of women and conditions and diseases
particularly
affecting women are not available in many countries. Relatively
little is
known about how social and economic factors affect the health of
girls and
women of all ages, about the provision of health services to girls
and women
and the patterns of their use of such services, and about the value
of disease
prevention and health promotion programmes for women. Subjects of
importance
to women's health have not been adequately researched and women's
health
research often lacks funding. Medical research, on heart disease,
for
example, and epidemiological studies in many countries are often
based solely
on men; they are not gender specific. Clinical trials involving
women to
establish basic information about dosage, side-effects and
effectiveness of
drugs, including contraceptives, are noticeably absent and do not
always
conform to ethical standards for research and testing. Many drug
therapy
protocols and other medical treatments and interventions
administered to women
are based on research on men without any investigation and
adjustment for
gender differences.
- In addressing inequalities in health status and unequal access to and inadequate health-care services between women and men, Governments and other actors should promote an active and visible policy of mainstreaming a gender perspective in all policies and programmes, so that, before decisions are taken, an analysis is made of the effects for women and men, respectively.
Go back to the top of the page
Strategic objective C.1.
Increase women's access throughout the life cycle to appropriate, affordable and quality health care, information and related services
Actions to be taken
- By Governments, in collaboration with non-governmental
organizations and
employers' and workers' organizations and with the support of
international
institutions:
- Support and implement the commitments made in the Programme of
Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development, as established in the report of that
Conference and the
Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and Programme
of Action
of the World Summit for Social Development [15] and the
obligations
of States parties under the Convention on the Elimination
of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women and other relevant
international agreements, to meet the health needs of
girls and
women of all ages;
- Reaffirm the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable
standards of physical and mental health, protect and
promote the
attainment of this right for women and girls and
incorporate it in
national legislation, for example; review existing
legislation,
including health legislation, as well as policies, where
necessary,
to reflect a commitment to women's health and to ensure
that they
meet the changing roles and responsibilities of women
wherever they
reside;
- Design and implement, in cooperation with women and
community-based
organizations, gender-sensitive health programmes,
including
decentralized health services, that address the needs of
women
throughout their lives and take into account their
multiple roles
and responsibilities, the demands on their time, the
special needs
of rural women and women with disabilities and the
diversity of
women's needs arising from age and socio-economic and
cultural
differences, among others; include women, especially local
and
indigenous women, in the identification and planning of
health-care
priorities and programmes; remove all barriers to women's
health
services and provide a broad range of health-care
services;
- Allow women access to social security systems in equality with
men
throughout the whole life cycle;
- Provide more accessible, available and affordable primary
health-
care services of high quality, including sexual and
reproductive
health care, which includes family planning information
and
services, and giving particular attention to maternal and
emergency
obstetric care, as agreed to in the Programme of Action of
the
International Conference on Population and Development;
- Redesign health information, services and training for health
workers so that they are gender-sensitive and reflect the
user's
perspectives with regard to interpersonal and
communications skills
and the user's right to privacy and confidentiality; these
services,
information and training should be based on a holistic
approach;
- Ensure that all health services and workers conform to human
rights
and to ethical, professional and gender-sensitive
standards in the
delivery of women's health services aimed at ensuring
responsible,
voluntary and informed consent; encourage the development,
implementation and dissemination of codes of ethics guided
by
existing international codes of medical ethics as well as
ethical
principles that govern other health professionals;
- Take all appropriate measures to eliminate harmful, medically
unnecessary or coercive medical interventions, as well as
inappropriate medication and over-medication of women, and
ensure
that all women are fully informed of their options,
including likely
benefits and potential side-effects, by properly trained
personnel;
- Strengthen and reorient health services, particularly primary
health
care, in order to ensure universal access to quality
health services
for women and girls; reduce ill health and maternal
morbidity and
achieve world wide the agreed-upon goal of reducing
maternal
mortality by at least 50 per cent of the 1990 levels by
the year
2000 and a further one half by the year 2015; ensure that
the
necessary services are available at each level of the
health system
and make reproductive health care accessible, through the
primary
health-care system, to all individuals of appropriate ages
as soon
as possible and no later than the year 2015;
- Recognize and deal with the health impact of unsafe abortion as
a
major public health concern, as agreed in paragraph 8.25
of the
Programme of Action of the International Conference on
Population
and Development; [14]
- In the light of paragraph 8.25 of the Programme of Action of
the
International Conference on Population and Development,
which
states: "In no case should abortion be promoted as a
method of
family planning. All Governments and relevant
intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations are urged to strengthen
their
commitment to women's health, to deal with the health
impact of
unsafe abortion [16] as a major public health concern and
to reduce
the recourse to abortion through expanded and improved
family-planning services. Prevention of unwanted
pregnancies must
always be given the highest priority and every attempt
should be
made to eliminate the need for abortion. Women who have
unwanted
pregnancies should have ready access to reliable
information and
compassionate counselling. Any measures or changes
related to
abortion within the health system can only be determined
at the
national or local level according to the national
legislative
process. In circumstances where abortion is not against
the law,
such abortion should be safe. In all cases, women should
have
access to quality services for the management of
complications
arising from abortion. Post-abortion counselling,
education and
family-planning services should be offered promptly, which
will also
help to avoid repeat abortions", consider reviewing laws
containing
punitive measures against women who have undergone illegal
abortions;
- Give particular attention to the needs of girls, especially the
promotion of healthy behaviour, including physical
activities; take
specific measures for closing the gender gaps in morbidity
and
mortality where girls are disadvantaged, while achieving
internationally approved goals for the reduction of infant
and child
mortality - specifically, by the year 2000, the reduction
of
mortality rates of infants and children under five years
of age by
one third of the 1990 level, or 50 to 70 per 1,000 live
births,
whichever is less; by the year 2015 an infant mortality
rate below
35 per 1,000 live births and an under-five mortality rate
below 45
per 1,000;
- Ensure that girls have continuing access to necessary health
and
nutrition information and services as they mature, to
facilitate a
healthful transition from childhood to adulthood;
- Develop information, programmes and services to assist women to
understand and adapt to changes associated with ageing and
to
address and treat the health needs of older women, paying
particular
attention to those who are physically or psychologically
dependent;
- Ensure that girls and women of all ages with any form of
disability
receive supportive services;
- Formulate special policies, design programmes and enact the
legislation necessary to alleviate and eliminate
environmental and
occupational health hazards associated with work in the
home, in the
workplace and elsewhere with attention to pregnant and
lactating
women;
- Integrate mental health services into primary health-care
systems or
other appropriate levels, develop supportive programmes
and train
primary health workers to recognize and care for girls and
women of
all ages who have experienced any form of violence
especially
domestic violence, sexual abuse or other abuse resulting
from armed
and non-armed conflict;
- Promote public information on the benefits of breast-feeding;
examine ways and means of implementing fully the
WHO/UNICEF
International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk
Substitutes, and
enable mothers to breast-feed their infants by providing
legal,
economic, practical and emotional support;
- Establish mechanisms to support and involve non-governmental
organizations, particularly women's organizations,
professional
groups and other bodies working to improve the health of
girls and
women, in government policy-making, programme design, as
appropriate, and implementation within the health sector
and related
sectors at all levels;
- Support non-governmental organizations working on women's
health and
help develop networks aimed at improving coordination and
collaboration between all sectors that affect health;
- Rationalize drug procurement and ensure a reliable, continuous
supply of high-quality pharmaceutical, contraceptive and
other
supplies and equipment, using the WHO Model List of
Essential Drugs
as a guide, and ensure the safety of drugs and devices
through
national regulatory drug approval processes;
- Provide improved access to appropriate treatment and
rehabilitation
services for women substance abusers and their families;
- Promote and ensure household and national food security, as
appropriate, and implement programmes aimed at improving
the
nutritional status of all girls and women by implementing
the
commitments made in the Plan of Action on Nutrition of the
International Conference on Nutrition, [17] including a
reduction
world wide of severe and moderate malnutrition among
children under
the age of five by one half of 1990 levels by the year
2000, giving
special attention to the gender gap in nutrition, and a
reduction in
iron deficiency anaemia in girls and women by one third of
the 1990
levels by the year 2000;
- Ensure the availability of and universal access to safe
drinking
water and sanitation and put in place effective public
distribution
systems as soon as possible;
- Ensure full and equal access to health-care infrastructure and services for indigenous women.
- Support and implement the commitments made in the Programme of
Action of the International Conference on Population and
Development, as established in the report of that
Conference and the
Copenhagen Declaration on Social Development and Programme
of Action
of the World Summit for Social Development [15] and the
obligations
of States parties under the Convention on the Elimination
of All
Forms of Discrimination against Women and other relevant
international agreements, to meet the health needs of
girls and
women of all ages;
Go back to the top of the page
Strategic objective C.2.
Strengthen preventive programmes that promote women's health
Actions to be taken
- By Governments, in cooperation with non-governmental
organizations, the
mass media, the private sector and relevant international
organizations,
including United Nations bodies, as appropriate:
- Give priority to both formal and informal educational
programmes
that support and enable women to develop self-esteem,
acquire
knowledge, make decisions on and take responsibility for
their own
health, achieve mutual respect in matters concerning
sexuality and
fertility and educate men regarding the importance of
women's health
and well-being, placing special focus on programmes for
both men and
women that emphasize the elimination of harmful attitudes
and
practices, including female genital mutilation, son
preference
(which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex
selection),
early marriage, including child marriage, violence against
women,
sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, which at times is
conducive to
infection with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases,
drug abuse, discrimination against girls and women in food
allocation and other harmful attitudes and practices
related to the
life, health and well-being of women, and recognizing that
some of
these practices can be violations of human rights and
ethical
medical principles;
- Pursue social, human development, education and employment
policies
to eliminate poverty among women in order to reduce their
susceptibility to ill health and to improve their health;
- Encourage men to share equally in child care and household work
and
to provide their share of financial support for their
families, even
if they do not live with them;
- Reinforce laws, reform institutions and promote norms and
practices
that eliminate discrimination against women and encourage
both women
and men to take responsibility for their sexual and
reproductive
behaviour; ensure full respect for the integrity of the
person, take
action to ensure the conditions necessary for women to
exercise
their reproductive rights and eliminate coercive laws and
practices;
- Prepare and disseminate accessible information, through public
health campaigns, the media, reliable counselling and the
education
system, designed to ensure that women and men,
particularly young
people, can acquire knowledge about their health,
especially
information on sexuality and reproduction, taking into
account the
rights of the child to access to information, privacy,
confidentiality, respect and informed consent, as well as
the
responsibilities, rights and duties of parents and legal
guardians
to provide, in a manner consistent with the evolving
capacities of
the child, appropriate direction and guidance in the
exercise by the
child of the rights recognized in the Convention on the
Rights of
the Child, and in conformity with the Convention on the
Elimination
of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; ensure that
in all
actions concerning children, the best interests of the
child are a
primary consideration;
- Create and support programmes in the educational system, in the
workplace and in the community to make opportunities to
participate
in sport, physical activity and recreation available to
girls and
women of all ages on the same basis as they are made
available to
men and boys;
- Recognize the specific needs of adolescents and implement
specific
appropriate programmes, such as education and information
on sexual
and reproductive health issues and on sexually transmitted
diseases,
including HIV/AIDS, taking into account the rights of the
child and
the responsibilities, rights and duties of parents as
stated in
paragraph 107 (e) above;
- Develop policies that reduce the disproportionate and
increasing
burden on women who have multiple roles within the family
and the
community by providing them with adequate support and
programmes
from health and social services;
- Adopt regulations to ensure that the working conditions,
including
remuneration and promotion of women at all levels of the
health
system, are non-discriminatory and meet fair and
professional
standards to enable them to work effectively;
- Ensure that health and nutritional information and training
form an
integral part of all adult literacy programmes and school
curricula
from the primary level;
- Develop and undertake media campaigns and information and
educational programmes that inform women and girls of the
health and
related risks of substance abuse and addiction and pursue
strategies
and programmes that discourage substance abuse and
addiction and
promote rehabilitation and recovery;
- Devise and implement comprehensive and coherent programmes for
the
prevention, diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, a
condition
that predominantly affects women;
- Establish and/or strengthen programmes and services, including
media
campaigns, that address the prevention, early detection
and
treatment of breast, cervical and other cancers of the
reproductive
system;
- Reduce environmental hazards that pose a growing threat to
health,
especially in poor regions and communities; apply a
precautionary
approach, as agreed to in the Rio Declaration on
Environment and
Development, adopted by the United Nations Conference on
Environment
and Development, [18] and include reporting on women's
health risks
related to the environment in monitoring the
implementation of
Agenda 21; [19]
- Create awareness among women, health professionals, policy makers and the general public about the serious but preventable health hazards stemming from tobacco consumption and the need for regulatory and education measures to reduce smoking as important health promotion and disease prevention activities;
- Ensure that medical school curricula and other health-care training include gender-sensitive, comprehensive and mandatory courses on women's health;
- Adopt specific preventive measures to protect women, youth and children from any abuse - sexual abuse, exploitation, trafficking and violence, for example - including the formulation and enforcement of laws, and provide legal protection and medical and other assistance.
- Create awareness among women, health professionals, policy makers and the general public about the serious but preventable health hazards stemming from tobacco consumption and the need for regulatory and education measures to reduce smoking as important health promotion and disease prevention activities;
- Give priority to both formal and informal educational
programmes
that support and enable women to develop self-esteem,
acquire
knowledge, make decisions on and take responsibility for
their own
health, achieve mutual respect in matters concerning
sexuality and
fertility and educate men regarding the importance of
women's health
and well-being, placing special focus on programmes for
both men and
women that emphasize the elimination of harmful attitudes
and
practices, including female genital mutilation, son
preference
(which results in female infanticide and prenatal sex
selection),
early marriage, including child marriage, violence against
women,
sexual exploitation, sexual abuse, which at times is
conducive to
infection with HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases,
drug abuse, discrimination against girls and women in food
allocation and other harmful attitudes and practices
related to the
life, health and well-being of women, and recognizing that
some of
these practices can be violations of human rights and
ethical
medical principles;
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Actions to be taken
- By Governments, international bodies including relevant United
Nations
organizations, bilateral and multilateral donors and
non-governmental
organizations:
- Ensure the involvement of women, especially those infected with
HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases or
affected by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, in all decision-making relating to the
development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
policies
and programmes on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases;
- Review and amend laws and combat practices, as appropriate,
that may
contribute to women's susceptibility to HIV infection and
other
sexually transmitted diseases, including enacting
legislation
against those socio-cultural practices that contribute to
it, and
implement legislation, policies and practices to protect
women,
adolescents and young girls from discrimination related to
HIV/AIDS;
- Encourage all sectors of society, including the public sector,
as
well as international organizations, to develop
compassionate and
supportive, non-discriminatory HIV/AIDS-related policies
and
practices that protect the rights of infected individuals;
- Recognize the extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in their
countries,
taking particularly into account its impact on women, with
a view to
ensuring that infected women do not suffer stigmatization
and
discrimination, including during travel;
- Develop gender-sensitive multisectoral programmes and
strategies to
end social subordination of women and girls and to ensure
their
social and economic empowerment and equality; facilitate
promotion
of programmes to educate and enable men to assume their
responsibilities to prevent HIV/AIDS and other sexually
transmitted
diseases;
- Facilitate the development of community strategies that will
protect
women of all ages from HIV and other sexually transmitted
diseases;
provide care and support to infected girls, women and
their families
and mobilize all parts of the community in response to the
HIV/AIDS
pandemic to exert pressure on all responsible authorities
to respond
in a timely, effective, sustainable and gender-sensitive
manner;
- Support and strengthen national capacity to create and improve
gender-sensitive policies and programmes on HIV/AIDS and
other
sexually transmitted diseases, including the provision of
resources
and facilities to women who find themselves the principal
caregivers
or economic support for those infected with HIV/AIDS or
affected by
the pandemic, and the survivors, particularly children and
older
persons;
- Provide workshops and specialized education and training to
parents,
decision makers and opinion leaders at all levels of the
community,
including religious and traditional authorities, on
prevention of
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases and on
their
repercussions on both women and men of all ages;
- Give all women and health workers all relevant information and
education about sexually transmitted diseases including
HIV/AIDS and
pregnancy and the implications for the baby, including
breast-
feeding;
- Assist women and their formal and informal organizations to
establish and expand effective peer education and outreach
programmes and to participate in the design,
implementation and
monitoring of these programmes;
- Give full attention to the promotion of mutually respectful and
equitable gender relations and, in particular, to meeting
the
educational and service needs of adolescents to enable
them to deal
in a positive and responsible way with their sexuality;
- Design specific programmes for men of all ages and male
adolescents,
recognizing the parental roles referred to in paragraph
107 (e)
above, aimed at providing complete and accurate
information on safe
and responsible sexual and reproductive behaviour,
including
voluntary, appropriate and effective male methods for the
prevention
of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases
through,
inter alia, abstinence and condom use;
- Ensure the provision, through the primary health-care system,
of
universal access of couples and individuals to appropriate
and
affordable preventive services with respect to sexually
transmitted
diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and expand the provision of
counselling and voluntary and confidential diagnostic and
treatment
services for women; ensure that high-quality condoms as
well as
drugs for the treatment of sexually transmitted diseases
are, where
possible, supplied and distributed to health services;
- Support programmes which acknowledge that the higher risk among
women of contracting HIV is linked to high-risk behaviour,
including
intravenous substance use and substance-influenced
unprotected and
irresponsible sexual behaviour, and take appropriate
preventive
measures;
- Support and expedite action-oriented research on affordable
methods,
controlled by women, to prevent HIV and other sexually
transmitted
diseases, on strategies empowering women to protect
themselves from
sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and on
methods of
care, support and treatment of women, ensuring their
involvement in
all aspects of such research;
- Support and initiate research which addresses women's needs and situations, including research on HIV infection and other sexually transmitted diseases in women, on women-controlled methods of protection, such as non-spermicidal microbicides, and on male and female risk-taking attitudes and practices.
- Ensure the involvement of women, especially those infected with
HIV/AIDS or other sexually transmitted diseases or
affected by the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, in all decision-making relating to the
development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
policies
and programmes on HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases;
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Strategic objective C.4.
Promote research and disseminate
information on women's health
Actions to be taken
- By Governments, the United Nations system, health professions,
research
institutions, non-governmental organizations, donors,
pharmaceutical
industries and the mass media, as appropriate:
- Train researchers and introduce systems that allow for the use
of
data collected, analysed and disaggregated by, among other
factors,
sex and age, other established demographic criteria and
socio-economic variables, in policy-making, as
appropriate,
planning, monitoring and evaluation;
- Promote gender-sensitive and women-centred health research,
treatment and technology and link traditional and
indigenous
knowledge with modern medicine, making information
available to
women to enable them to make informed and responsible
decisions;
- Increase the number of women in leadership positions in the
health
professions, including researchers and scientists, to
achieve
equality at the earliest possible date;
- Increase financial and other support from all sources for
preventive, appropriate biomedical, behavioural,
epidemiological and
health service research on women's health issues and for
research on
the social, economic and political causes of women's
health
problems, and their consequences, including the impact of
gender and
age inequalities, especially with respect to chronic and
non-communicable diseases, particularly cardiovascular
diseases and
conditions, cancers, reproductive tract infections and
injuries,
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, domestic
violence,
occupational health, disabilities, environmentally related
health
problems, tropical diseases and health aspects of ageing;
- Inform women about the factors which increase the risks of
developing cancers and infections of the reproductive
tract, so that
they can make informed decisions about their health;
- Support and fund social, economic, political and cultural
research
on how gender-based inequalities affect women's health,
including
etiology, epidemiology, provision and utilization of
services and
eventual outcome of treatment;
- Support health service systems and operations research to
strengthen
access and improve the quality of service delivery, to
ensure
appropriate support for women as health-care providers and
to
examine patterns with respect to the provision of health
services to
women and use of such services by women;
- Provide financial and institutional support for research on
safe,
effective, affordable and acceptable methods and
technologies for
the reproductive and sexual health of women and men,
including more
safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods for the
regulation of fertility, including natural family planning
for both
sexes, methods to protect against HIV/AIDS and other
sexually
transmitted diseases and simple and inexpensive methods of
diagnosing such diseases, among others; this research
needs to be
guided at all stages by users and from the perspective of
gender,
particularly the perspective of women, and should be
carried out in
strict conformity with internationally accepted legal,
ethical,
medical and scientific standards for biomedical research;
- Since unsafe abortion [16] is a major threat to the health and
life
of women, research to understand and better address the
determinants
and consequences of induced abortion, including its
effects on
subsequent fertility, reproductive and mental health and
contraceptive practice, should be promoted, as well as
research on
treatment of complications of abortions and post-abortion
care;
- Acknowledge and encourage beneficial traditional health care, especially that practised by indigenous women, with a view to preserving and incorporating the value of traditional health care in the provision of health services, and support research directed towards achieving this aim;
- Develop mechanisms to evaluate and disseminate available data and research findings to researchers, policy makers, health professionals and women's groups, among others;
- Monitor human genome and related genetic research from the perspective of women's health and disseminate information and results of studies conducted in accordance with accepted ethical standards.
- Acknowledge and encourage beneficial traditional health care, especially that practised by indigenous women, with a view to preserving and incorporating the value of traditional health care in the provision of health services, and support research directed towards achieving this aim;
- Train researchers and introduce systems that allow for the use
of
data collected, analysed and disaggregated by, among other
factors,
sex and age, other established demographic criteria and
socio-economic variables, in policy-making, as
appropriate,
planning, monitoring and evaluation;
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Strategic objective C.5.
Increase resources and monitor follow-up for women's health
Actions to be taken
- By Governments at all levels and, where appropriate, in
cooperation with
non-governmental organizations, especially women's and youth
organizations:
- Increase budgetary allocations for primary health care and
social
services, with adequate support for secondary and tertiary
levels,
and give special attention to the reproductive and sexual
health of
girls and women and give priority to health programmes in
rural and
poor urban areas;
- Develop innovative approaches to funding health services
through
promoting community participation and local financing;
increase,
where necessary, budgetary allocations for community
health centres
and community-based programmes and services that address
women's
specific health needs;
- Develop local health services, promoting the incorporation of
gender-sensitive community-based participation and
self-care and
specially designed preventive health programmes;
- Develop goals and time-frames, where appropriate, for improving
women's health and for planning, implementing, monitoring
and
evaluating programmes, based on gender-impact assessments
using
qualitative and quantitative data disaggregated by sex,
age, other
established demographic criteria and socio-economic
variables;
- Establish, as appropriate, ministerial and inter-ministerial mechanisms for monitoring the implementation of women's health policy and programme reforms and establish, as appropriate, high- level focal points in national planning authorities responsible for monitoring to ensure that women's health concerns are mainstreamed in all relevant government agencies and programmes.
- Increase budgetary allocations for primary health care and
social
services, with adequate support for secondary and tertiary
levels,
and give special attention to the reproductive and sexual
health of
girls and women and give priority to health programmes in
rural and
poor urban areas;
- By Governments, the United Nations and its specialized
agencies,
international financial institutions, bilateral donors and the
private sector,
as appropriate:
- Formulate policies favourable to investment in women's health
and,
where appropriate, increase allocations for such
investment;
- Provide appropriate material, financial and logistical
assistance to
youth non-governmental organizations in order to
strengthen them to
address youth concerns in the area of health, including
sexual and
reproductive health;
- Give higher priority to women's health and develop mechanisms for coordinating and implementing the health objectives of the Platform for Action and relevant international agreements to ensure progress.
- Formulate policies favourable to investment in women's health
and,
where appropriate, increase allocations for such
investment;
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