The Numbers Make It Clear: Women’s Health is in Crisis

By: Laura Gillespie, Vice President of Women’s Health Initiatives, Hologic?

President Biden recently announced the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research to accelerate efforts to fund and conduct research into women’s health issues in the U.S. The initiative recognizes what those of us working in women’s health around the world have long understood: you can’t improve what you don’t measure.

That’s why in January, we launched our third Hologic Global Women’s Health Index at Goals House Davos. The Index is the product of a comprehensive survey on women’s health designed to help fill critical knowledge gaps. By hearing directly from women around the world, the Index presents a holistic view of women’s perspectives and experiences related to their health and well-being.

Developed in collaboration with Gallup, the Index captured responses from 147,000 participants across 143 countries and territories, representing the voices of 97% of the world’s women and girls aged 15 and over. The findings reveal a bleak picture of how women across the world currently perceive their physical and emotional health. For example:

·????? ?Billions of women are not getting tested for potentially life-threatening conditions:

o?? Only 36% were tested for high blood pressure – a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke

o?? 19% were tested for diabetes, a leading cause of death for women

o?? Only 11% were tested for any type of cancer

o?? 10% were tested for STDs/STIs

·????? Emotional health is worsening: More women said they are sad, angry and more worried now than three years ago. About 40% of women experienced worry and stress during a lot of the previous day. And women are 20% are more likely than men to say they experience sadness daily.

·????? Physical pain is a significant problem: Nearly 1 billion women — about 1 in 3 worldwide — spent a lot of the previous day in physical pain.

·????? Housing challenges continue: The percentage of women struggling to afford shelter has increased by more than 50% in the last decade.

·????? Women don’t feel safe: Many women, including more than 40% of young women aged 15-24, don’t feel safe walking alone at night in their community.

The data are unequivocal: women’s health is in crisis. It’s high time we turn this situation around by turning these data into action. As our CEO, Stephen P. MacMillan, said when launching this year’s Index at Goals House, "Getting the data out there will start getting the message out there. What gets measured gets acted upon."

These alarming and thought-provoking findings are only impactful if stakeholders around the world use them to get – and keep – women’s health on the global development agenda. Our launch event at Goals House Davos enabled us to convene key industry and policy leaders, united by a shared goal of improving the health and well-being of women around the world. Dr. Adanna Steinacker, an entrepreneur, medical doctor and digital creator, opened the event, underscoring the importance of convening to highlight women’s health. Moira Forbes, President and Publisher of ForbesWomen, moderated an impactful panel discussion with Dr. Alaa Murabit, Director, Program Advocacy and Communications, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Pernille Fenger, Chief, Geneva Representation Office, United Nations Population Fund; and Dr. Vanessa Kerry, Chief Executive Officer, Seed Global Health.?The event ended with a strong call to action from Jennifer Lotito, President and COO of (RED).

Since we left Davos, we’ve maintained the momentum and continued to deliver on our commitment to improve women’s health. For example, Hologic was proud to make the inaugural donation to the WTA Foundation’s recently announced Global Women’s Health Fund, reflecting our shared commitment alongside the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and WTA Foundation to improve women’s health around the world.

We also joined Generation Equality’s Action Coalition on bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights, alongside UNFPA and UN Women, to work with key global health and development stakeholders advancing women’s health and rights. The relationships we built during our launch event at Goals House have been critical for forging impactful partnerships. We continue to engage in meaningful, ongoing conversations with key leaders and organizations who attended the launch to identify opportunities to collaborate for greater impact on our shared goal of advancing women’s health.

We tell this story so that it can be rewritten. Women are the cornerstone of families, communities, economies and societies. We cannot achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) without a focus on women. By investing in improving their health and well-being, we’re moving the needle on many SDGs – and making a difference for women around the world. Today, World Health Day, and every day, we’re proud to be a company that collaborates with partners across sectors to innovate and drive greater impact in improving women’s health and well-being.