“Investing in women and girls”
International Women’s Day this year, 8 March 2008, gives me a pleasant opportunity to present the congratulations and encouragement of the WHO Regional Office for Africa to all women worldwide and to African women in particular. This encouragement also goes to men, youths, children and public and private institutions that support women because they acknowledge the important role women play in the survival, the well-being and the development of their families and their communities, and of mankind as a whole.
While women’s struggle for equality and justice has helped restore the rights of some of the women, and while women worldwide are organizing themselves to promote their right to health, there is still a very long way to go when it comes to women in the African region. The truth is that the huge majority of African women are largely unaware of the rights they have achieved since several decades including the right to health and education.
Millions of women lack access to basic health care because of their economic dependence and the weakness of the health systems of their countries. Each day, with indifference, many women endure acts of discrimination and violence which expose them to unwanted pregnancies, sexually-transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS and even death. In the name of culture and tradition, more than 100 million African women and girls undergo genital mutilation which affects their health, their dignity and their well-being.
The health needs specific to women are often relegated to the backstage, with the result that maternal and infant morbidity and mortality are often too high. For example, 1 out of every 26 women in sub-Saharan Africa is at risk of dying during childbirth compared to 1 woman out of 7300 in the developed countries. Furthermore, of the fourteen countries worldwide where maternal mortality is above 1000 per 100 000 live births, 13 are in sub-Saharan Africa. These deaths can be avoided if pregnant women receive timely assistance from qualified staff during pregnancy and childbirth and in the post-natal period.
The theme for International Women’s Day, this year: «Investing in women and girls» is a rallying call on families, communities, governments, donors and development partners. It is an invitation to them to measure women’s love, their devotion and sometimes their sacrifice for their families, their societies and their countries. These qualities would benefit Africa even more if women had greater resources and capacity.
There is no doubt that, since several centuries, women have been investing immensely in their families and their societies. Some women even pay with their lives during childbirth. Despite being poorer, women make sacrifices in order to feed, educate and provide care for their children and their families. Time has now come for families and societies to invest, in their turn, in women and girls. Investing today in the education of women and girls will empower them more to take decisions concerning their health as well as birth planning. It will help women to raise their children in a healthy environment and in an atmosphere of tolerance and respect for human rights.
I wish to reaffirm the commitment of the WHO African Region to supporting Member States in their endeavour to promote complete physical and moral well-being of women and girls. I therefore invite our partners to invest more in strengthening health systems mainly in rural areas to meet the needs not only of people in greatest need but also of women and girls.
I urge Member States and the staff of the WHO African Region to build into all their activities the priority that the WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan, has given to the health of women and Africans.
Last but not least, I invite women in the African Region to persevere in the battle to promote their rights in general and their right to health in particular.
Investing in the health and education of women and girls is a sustainable investment for a healthy and prosperous Africa.
I wish all women in the African region a happy International Women’s Day celebration.
Dr Luis Gomes Sambo
Regional Director