Equalogy

The World Health Organization (WHO) conducted the first ever study of women’s health around the globe.  In a press release, they summarized some of the main points:

1.  Women provide the bulk of health care but rarely receive the care they need

2.  Women live longer than men but these extra years are not always healthy

3.  Despite some biological advantages, women’s health suffers from their lower socio-economic status

4.  Policy change and action is needed within the health care sector and beyond

The study also concluded that HIV is the leading cause of death and disease of women ages 15-44

From the NYT:

In its first study of women’s health around the globe, the World Health Organization said Monday that H.I.V. is the leading cause of death and disease among women between the ages of 15 and 44. Unprotected sex is the leading risk factor in developing countries for these women of childbearing age; others include iron deficiency and lack of access to contraceptives, said the W.H.O., a United Nations agency. Throughout the world, one in five deaths among women in this age group is linked to unprotected sex, the agency said. The data was included in a report intended to highlight the unequal health treatment a woman faces from birth to death.