Women and health

Women and Health by Her Excellency Mrs Benazir Bhutto Prime Mimster of Paktstan JI am pleased to introduce this special issue of World Health magazine, which has been devoted exclusively to the health of women. Women, particularly those living in the rural areas of developing countries, are a · most under-privileged segment of their societies. Chronically neglected they, in many cases, lack even such basic necessities of life as food and health care. It is a pity that, in spite of progress achieved in enhancing food production and improving public health, women are still disproportionately hungrier, poorer and sicker than their male counterparts. This has not only militated against the UN goal of Health for All by the Year 2000, but has also pushed farther away the goal of emancipation of mankind. And these twin goals will conti- @ nue to elude us as c.tJ.~ long as the women folk - constituting, as .J they do, nearly half of the world population - remain neglected. Poor health does not merely mean bodily infirmity; it also has adverse effects on production and productivity. No programmes for the economic development of a nation can succeed unless its citizens are in a reasonable state of physical fitness. A satisfactory health plan for a nation, with special emphasis on women, is therefore of the utmost importance not only for promoting general Village woman in Nigeria. Women are expected to work longer hours than men, at harder and more menial tasks, for little or no pay. WORLD HEA LT H. Apri i-May 1990 health but also as part of the strategy for socio- economic uplift. Any expenditure on it will be an investment in human development and will not be too great. For a variety of reasons women have been denied the opportunity to contribute their share, in accordance with their potential, towards the economic development of their societies. Poor literacy, lack of economic opportu- nities, unhealthy social attitudes and inadequate health facilities have all been responsible in varying degrees for the prevailing state of affairs. If better and improved health cover could be provided to women, we would have removed at least one major impedi- ment in the way of their playing a far more effective role in the development of their societies. Being published at a time when the need for focusing attention on various aspects of health is paramount, this special issue of the magazine will be greatly welcomed by all those who are concerned with the health and well-being of women. The articles in it address various issues involved in tackling the problems of women's health. I hope that it will raise our consciousness of the problems of physical fitness of those who have suffered so much for so long. I hope too that it will serve as an impetus for adopting concrete measures for overcoming those problems. I wish to compliment the World Health Organization and all those associated with World Health for their noble endeavour. I wish them all good luck and pray for their success. Benazir Bhutto Prime Minister 3