On 4 September 2015 we commemorate Women’s Health Day in the African Region under the theme: "Women’s Health in the Context of Humanitarian Emergencies”.
This year’s theme is especially pertinent in the African Region as it continues to be challenged by a multitude of humanitarian crises, notably: religious, political, and ethnic conflicts, natural disasters, and large-scale outbreaks and epidemics.
These crises frequently cause injuries, deaths, population displacements, destruction of health facilities and disruption of health care services. Statistics show that women are the most impacted or affected in the majority of these situations.
For example, the Ebola virus disease has affected more than 27 000 people, caused more than 11 000 deaths and has demonstrated the extreme vulnerability of women. This is primarily due to women’s key role as caregivers for children and patients which further increase their risk of exposure and infection.
In addition, the extreme exposure of women during emergencies increases their vulnerability and aggravates their limited health care access, due to geographical and financial inaccessibility of health facilities. In fact, in countries affected by the Ebola virus disease, the number of births in health facilities reduced by 11% to 50%.
Women are also not spared from religious, political and ethnic conflicts. The most recent case, that still persists, is the kidnapping of more than 200 young girls in April 2014 by the Boko Haram sect in Nigeria. The abducted young girls are subjected to sexual abuses and early/forced marriage which have significant adverse mental and physical health effects that are difficult to assess.
Therefore, to ensure that appropriate measures are taken, it is vital to consider women’s extreme vulnerabilities in the formulation of various emergency-related policies. It is notably important to increase the capacities and knowledge of women themselves, in order to enable them carry out their role fully as nation builders and agents of change.
It is encouraging to note the growing attention to address the impact of emergencies on women. Under the leadership of WHO, countries have established the African Public Health Emergency Fund (APHEF) to ensure that there are adequate resources available to minimize the death toll and suffering caused by emergencies.
However, there is an urgent need for the international community and partners to create and implement programmes that focus on the specific needs of women and girls and take into account the social, cultural, environmental and economic determinants in order to improve women’s health, particularly in the context of humanitarian emergencies.
As we commemorate Women’s Health Day in the African Region, I urge governments to take innovative actions to cope with emergencies of which women are the most vulnerable.
Thank you.