THE 5 ASKS FOR GLOBAL HEALTH SECURITY
The current COVID-19 pandemic shines a harsh light on inequality and shows that ours is an interconnected global society. Viruses don’t respect national borders, and the rapid spread of this disease is due in large part to the ways power and privilege play out in the provision of healthcare worldwide.
Our five asks will help us confront this power and privilege, which undermine global health by preventing women from contributing equally to the fight against challenges like COVID-19.
Ask 1: Include women in global health security decision making structures and public discourse
Women are 70% of the global health workforce but underrepresented in COVID-19 decision-making leadership & media commentaries.
To #BuildBackBetter we must build back equal. Global health security needs equal numbers of women and men in decision making structures and public discourse. #UNGA #COVID5050 #WGHSecuritySummit
Ask 2: Provide health workers, most of whom are women, with safe and decent working conditions
Women are clustered into lower status & lower paid jobs in the global health workforce. They are at higher risk of COVID-19 infection, compounded by exhaustion and mental stress.
Health and social care workers—majority women—risk their lives and well-being to keep us safe in COVID-19. Invest in safe and decent work for female health and social care workers to build strong health systems #COVID5050 #WGHSecuritySummit #UNGA
Ask 3: Recognize the value of women’s unpaid care work by including it in the formal labor market and redistributing unpaid family care equally
Women contribute an estimated $3 trillion to health annually, of which almost half is unrecognized and unpaid. Women, more than men, are recruited for unpaid roles in health and expected to provide the majority of care and domestic work for their families.
Half the $3 trillion women contribute to health each year is unpaid. Global health security rests on women’s unpaid work. Include women’s unpaid work in formal labor market and redistribute unpaid family care #COVID5050 #WGHSecuritySummit #UNGA
Ask 4: Adopt a gender-sensitive approach to health security data collection/analysis and response management
Ignoring the gender aspects of health emergencies and outbreaks hinders prevention and response management by obscuring critical risk factors and trends.
Only gender sensitive health systems are strong health systems addressing health needs of all genders, achieving #UHC. Governments and multilateral agencies must adopt gender-sensitive data collection/analysis #WGHSecuritySummit #COVID5050 #UNGA
Ask 5: Fund women’s movements to unleash capacity to address critical gender issues
Women’s organizations — especially those based in low- and middle-income countries that are most at risk — are underfunded. Only 1% of gender-focused donor aid to civil society went directly to women’s NGOs in low-income countries from 2017 to 2018.
Women’s movements work to deliver #HealthForAll yet receive least $. Fund these movements to unleash power/ benefit health. Invest in women's movements to advance gender-responsive global health security #COVID5050 #WGHSecuritySummit #UNGA