WUNRN
HEALTH GAP WIDE BETWEEN RICH &
POOR - UN - POOR WOMEN
“The differences, within and between countries, in income levels, in opportunities, in health status, and in access to care are greater today than at any time in recent history,” UN World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Margaret Chan told representatives of some 120 governments in Rio de Janeiro. “A world that is greatly out of balance in matters of health is neither stable nor secure.”
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World Health Organization - WHO
WOMEN'S HEALTH & POVERTY
While
poverty is an important barrier to positive health outcomes for both men and
women, poverty tends to yield a higher burden on women and girls’ health...
Being a man or a woman has a significant impact on health, as a result of both biological and gender-related differences. The health of women and girls is of particular concern because, in many societies, they are disadvantaged by discrimination rooted in sociocultural factors. For example, women and girls face increased vulnerability to HIV/AIDS.
Some of the sociocultural factors that prevent women and girls to benefit
from quality health services and attaining the best possible level of health
include:
- unequal power relationships between men and women;
- social norms that decrease education and paid
employment opportunities;
- an exclusive focus on women’s reproductive roles; and
- potential or actual experience of physical, sexual and
emotional violence.
While poverty is an important barrier to positive health outcomes for both men and women, poverty tends to yield a higher burden on women and girls’ health due to, for example, feeding practices (malnutrition) and use of unsafe cooking fuels (COPD).