October 1st
Day 1: Invest in Comprehensive Healthcare for Girls
and Thank You to Our Volunteers!
Today we focus on comprehensive healthcare for girls. This means all girls have access to the health care they need, when and where they need it. Further, girls should completely understand their bodies and have access to health education.
The World Economic Forum shares why we need to focus on comprehensive health care for women and girls:
“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the shortcomings of global health and public infrastructure. Vulnerable populations have disproportionately suffered the impacts of the pandemic. Women’s and girls’ health has been severely affected. Their access to essential health services, in many cases, has been cut off, and recovery efforts have been actively deprioritised.
During the height of the pandemic, funds were directed away from women’s and girls’ health towards other life-saving services. There was also a general lack of awareness and prioritisation. This has led to major funding gaps in women’s healthcare. In addition, an underfunding of women’s health research means that specific challenges or diseases that affect women and girls remain unaddressed.
In a world where sexual and reproductive ill-health accounts for one-third of the global burden of disease among women of reproductive age, increased investment in women’s and girls’ health is of utmost urgency. For women to have autonomy over their bodies and decision-making processes, donors and policy-makers must ensure that they have access to quality healthcare services.
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School closures caused by COVID-19 are projected to keep 11 million girls out of school, according to the UN. These closures have rolled back the gains in the advancement of girls’ rights. Families around the world are forcing girls into child marriages and jeopardising their health and development.
Any investment in women’s and girls’ health should include an investment in equal education opportunities, which would allow girls to make informed choices regarding their health and well-being. Education plays a vital role in ensuring that women and girls realize equal health rights, economic independence and labour market participation.
School closures have also led to increasing concerns with respect to the mental health and psychological well-being of adolescent girls, due to an increase in domestic violence, loss of access to sanitary materials, poor engagement with distance learning and declining confidence and self-esteem. Investing in equal education opportunities for girls also means investing in their mental health, and overall well-being.”
Read the full article here.
Investing in Girls’ Health: UNICEF Article.
We recommend this video to learn more: UN WebTV.
We also want to thank all of the WGG members and volunteers who worked tirelessly to make the IDG Summit possible! Check back each day to follow along with the 11 Days of Action and join us on October 10th for the Girls Speak Out!
#IDG2023 #DayoftheGirl #IDGxWGG #GirlsRightsNow #GirlsSpeakOut #InvestInGirls #ActionforGirlsRights
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