The Voice and Autonomy: Women’s Political Leadership for Health in a Fragile World event jointly organised by Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH), Women in Global Health, UHC2030 and Global Health 50/50, and hosted by the Government of Estonia is set to kick off.
The virtual leadership dialogue will bring together global policymakers, government representatives, business leaders, health care providers, youth and community representatives from around the world.
They will reflect on the importance of women leaders in making a difference in social progress via gender equity in health and education to deliver the Sustainable Development Agenda.
According to Helen Clark, PMNCH Board Chair and former Prime Minister of New Zealand “At a time when compounding crises are rolling back previous progress made on women’s empowerment and the health of communities, war is also being waged on the fundamental rights of women and girls,”
“We need urgent and transformative action to reverse these worrying trends. Women must have both seats and voice at decision-making tables.
“To achieve the vision of leaving no one behind in development, societies must move beyond lip service to implementation of rights-based and gender-sensitive approaches to achieving equality, resilience, and sustainability.”
Summit participants will focus on solutions to increase women’s representation and participation in leadership roles and reduce gender gaps across every aspect of society, everywhere.
Championing multi-stakeholder and multi-sectoral partnerships are critical to these challenges and the only way forward to address a problem as pervasive as gender equality.
The most recent G7 Communique showed a strong response from G7 nations on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and reaffirmed the importance of comprehensive SRHR.
According to H.E. Kersti Kaljulaid, Former President of Estonia, the UN Secretary-General’s Global Advocate for Every Woman, Every Child. “People, communities and economies will thrive when we raise up our women and girls.
“When we acknowledge the contributions of women; when we pay women fairly for the work that they do; when we show the value and inherent necessity of women for society,”
“The solutions are complex, but let us commit to a gender lens that includes the participation of women – especially young women and girls – working in partnerships and communities, governments, corporations and NGOs towards our common goals. This is the way to see our true goals. This is the way to make progress.”