| Popis: |
For decades, programs to address women’s health in resource-limited settings have focused primarily on strategies to prevent deaths related to pregnancy and childbirth. Maternal mortality remains a devastating example of inequities in health outcomes worldwide – for example, a woman in a low and middle income country is still 65 times more likely to die of a pregnancy-related condition than a woman in a nation with greater resources. Despite this persistent inequality, however, maternal mortality in low and middle income countries has actually declined 45% in the past 2 decades. Furthermore, as the global population ages and acquires more risk factors for non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer, it has become urgently clear that chronic diseases are a significant and growing issue impacting the reproductive and non-reproductive health of women, especially poor women. Global health experts have thus started to outline a broader women’s health agenda that recognizes the growing burden of non-communicable diseases along with key issues in reproductive health. This more expansive vision would address women’s health throughout the life cycle—before, during and beyond the reproductive years. |
