Statement on the situation in Ukraine
1 March, 2022
Source: The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
As fighting escalates in Ukraine, Women in Global Health expresses concern for the safety and welfare of all people in Ukraine, especially women health workers caring for the health of all people.
Conflict in Ukraine comes after two years of a global pandemic when health workers, the majority of whom are women, have made an exceptional contribution to health systems. Many women health workers are now burnout and exhausted from managing exceptional workloads and personal stress. The current conflict in Ukraine, with rising numbers of casualties and internally displaced people, places significant additional demands on health workers. We urge the armed forces in Ukraine to respect the humanitarian mission of health workers and protect their safety.
For nearly a decade the people in eastern Ukraine, have lived with conflict which has taken a devastating toll on their lives and mental and physical wellbeing. WGH supports the UN Secretary-General in calling for an immediate cease-fire and we call on all parties to respect their international obligations to uphold the human rights and dignity of all people, including women and girls. We call for women to be equally represented in peace negotiations to represent the perspectives, experience and needs of women who are half the population of Ukraine.
Women in Global Health stands in solidarity with the women and girls and all the people of Ukraine. We call for the human rights of all people to be upheld, including minorities, migrants and marginalized groups.
WGH and Global Women Leaders' call to action to ensuring gender parity on WHO's Executive Board and on WHA delegations
9 February, 2022
Dr Patrick Amoth
Chair of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization
& Sra. Carla Moretti
Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the World Health Organization
cc the 33 other members of the Executive Board
Your Excellency,
Last week the World Health Organization's (WHO) 150th Executive Board (EB150) met as the world entered the third year of a global pandemic which continues to devastate lives, communities and economies. Health has never been higher on the global agenda, making the role of the WHO's EB pivotal in global health decision-making. For this reason, it is critical that the composition of the Board is fair and equitable, reflecting the diverse voices and views of all people in the decisions it makes since they impact everybody's health. The design of the EB builds in geographical diversity but it does not build in equity for women - only 6% of last week's EB150 members were women and women's representation has been falling over time.
Women comprise 70% of health and care workers globally and 90% of nurses. For the last two years of the pandemic women have held the overwhelming majority of patient facing roles, risking their own health and safety to shoulder the burden of soaring patient numbers. Women have been the social shock absorbers in this health emergency, taking on extra shifts in hospitals and additional hours of unpaid care for family and community members. Yet only 2 women (from Argentina and Slovenia) out of 34 EB150 members represented the health interests of nearly 4 billion women and girls across the globe at the EB150 meeting.
Before the pandemic women held only 25% of senior leadership positions in global health. In a profession where women are the experts in the health systems they largely deliver, that number was unacceptably low. It was, however, at least moving in the right direction. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, women's representation on the WHO EB had risen to 32% in January 2020. But by 2021, one year into the pandemic, the percentage of women at the EB table had fallen to 18% and then it fell further to 6% in 2022. That mirrored the marginalization of women in pandemic leadership at national level, with 85% of national COVID-19 task forces having majority male membership and only 3.5% having equal numbers of women and men. It is of serious concern that expert and qualified women have been so marginalized in health leadership during the greatest global health emergency in contemporary history.
Various items on the agenda of EB150 last week highlighted the potentially positive impact of gender parity in leadership in WHO on better health and governance. Too few women in leadership was identified by WHO staff as a reason why complaints of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment were not taken seriously, according to the Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee (IOAC) report presented to the EB150 meeting. The marginalization of women in leadership in health systems is also cited as a contributory factor to the low morale of women health and care workers, who have often felt expendable rather than essential during the pandemic. There are reports from many countries that a "Great Resignation" of health workers is underway, particularly among women health workers who are exhausted and burnt out after two years on the pandemic frontlines. Some estimates show that 1 in 5 health workers, especially nurses, are planning to leave the profession. Before the pandemic there was a global shortage of trained health workers, with an additional 18 million needed to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030. There are no health systems without the women who largely deliver them and this "Great Resignation" requires all Member States to address gender equity urgently in the health sector.
Member States are mandated to select their representative to the EB and we are writing to you now to urge states to nominate women from the many qualified women in the health sector to represent their countries on the EB. Governments must step up and meet the commitments made to gender balance in governmental bodies and committees in the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action. Gender parity in decision making bodies enables the perspectives, professional expertise and talent of women to benefit global health decision making. The pandemic has demonstrated the effective leadership of women at all levels, despite their underrepresentation, in managing the COVID-19 health emergency.
Ensuring gender parity in leadership within the WHO was amongst the commitments made by WHO's senior leadership under the guidance of the EB and we commend the steps taken to achieve this. Equal representation of women and men in leadership cannot, however, stop with WHO staff. To impact stronger health decision making it must be replicated at all levels of the organization, including at board level governance.
As the world enters the third year of a global pandemic, with more than five and a half million deaths to date, it is time to listen to women who are the majority of our health and care workers. It is both unacceptable and unwise to marginalize women's expertise, talent and perspectives in global health decision making, as is currently the case with only 6% of WHO EB seats held by women. This is not a peripheral "women's issue", engaging women equally in health decision making enables better health for all. Measures need to be taken urgently by WHO Member States to ensure women have an equal place at the WHO EB table.
In accordance with resolution WHA49.9 (May 1996), to support the aim of achievement of SDG 5 (Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls):
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We ask the WHO Executive Board to encourage all member states to plan for their participation at the upcoming 75th World Health Assembly in May 2022 with gender balanced delegations.
In addition, and in accordance with resolution WHA73.1 (May 2020), we call on the Executive Board to strengthen actions that involve women's participation in all stages of decision-making processes, and mainstream a gender perspective in the COVID-19 response and recovery.
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We therefore ask the WHO EB to encourage member states to have gender balanced leadership in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) on a WHO international instrument on pandemic prevention, preparedness and response.
Please accept, Excellency, assurances of our highest regard and consideration.
Sincerely,
Global Health Leaders & Women in Global Health
We thank our translators for the voluntary work
Translation to French by: Kassoum Coulibaly, Dr. Nicole Atchessi, Dr. Pamela Allavo, Anny T. Modi & Dr. Samiratou Ouedraogo
Translation to Spanish by: Ana Gutierrez
WGH Statement on Report of the Independent Commission on Allegations Sexual Abuse and Exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo
Protecting not abusing the vulnerable people WHO serves
Today the report was released of the Independent Commission on the review of the allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation made against WHO staff in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The findings of the Independent Commission are truly shocking: alleged exploitation and abuse by WHO staff of vulnerable women and girls - including nine rapes, countless demands for sex for jobs and even one demand for sex in return for a basin of water. Dozens of women and a girl of 13 became pregnant, had miscarriages and abortions (some forced) and a reported 22 children were born. This grotesque behaviour reported to have been perpetrated by around 22 men working for WHO, has broken the lives of women and girls trying to survive conflict, poverty and disease.
Nothing can be more shameful than well paid men in powerful positions, sent into a humanitarian emergency, using their power and privilege to sexually abuse and exploit women and girls from the communities they were sent to serve. The perpetrators of this sexual abuse and exploitation took advantage of the emergency response to Ebola in North Kivu and Ituri provinces to prey on women and girls who were already extremely vulnerable. The majority of the women and girls abused had little or no education, whereas several of the reported abusers were highly educated men, including medical doctors. This is a dark day for WHO. Particular shame attaches to men who use the humanitarian mandate of the United Nations to commit such rights abuses and bring the UN system into disrepute, in this case undermining the mandate and work of the WHO. WHO staff working on Ebola were killed in attacks in the area and such abuse sullies the memory of their service.
We cannot dismiss this case by saying that a few abusive men may slip through the screening net in emergencies when experts must be deployed fast into areas of social chaos. It is precisely in humanitarian contexts where the host population needs the highest degree of protection. Fixing this means getting inside the minds of men who think this behaviour is OK, who probably do not behave like this at home and have no empathy for the women and girls they abuse. In fact, their behaviour shows complete contempt for the people who have invited them into their country. Coercing impoverished women to trade sex for jobs seems to have been an organisational sub culture and must have been an open secret in the area. The abuse was recorded over a two year period and in the end, was uncovered by the media and not by WHO staff. Fixing this therefore also requires colleagues and managers to see rooting out sexual abuse and exploitation as their duty, not someone else's business.
The DG WHO, Dr Tedros, apologised at the press conference for the harm done and lives ruined. WHO and the UN system had policies and people in place in DRC to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse but they failed. Following the investigation, the hard work must begin of sanctioning the guilty (none of the alleged abusers now work for WHO), strengthening measures to ensure prevention and culture change, and implementing a survivor centred approach, which will include reparations for the women and girls abused in DRC. There is no one magic bullet to solve sexual exploitation and abuse but the presence of women at all levels from leadership down, makes an immediate difference because women rarely commit such abuse. It is noteworthy that of the 2,800 staff on that WHO Ebola programme, 73% were men and men held 77% of leadership roles. If women had been the majority of staff and held the majority of leadership roles, we believe this would have been a more positive story.
The IP report concludes there is no evidence that the DG WHO, Dr Tedros, had any knowledge of this abuse before it appeared in the media. At the press conference Dr Tedros said 'what happened should never happen to anyone, it is inexcusable' and promised support, protection and justice for survivors. We expect that after such a shock to the system Dr Tedros will now deliver on his promise to drive wholesale reform of WHO structures and culture to ensure that such abuse is never repeated. This year, Women in Global Health will co-host a series of town halls with WHO as a platform for open discussion on the drivers of sexual exploitation and abuse and on institutionalising organisational culture change. We will do our part to support WHO in the context of WHO stepping up under the DG's leadership with commitment, resources and iron resolve to drive out sexual exploitation and abuse.
Dr Roopa Dhatt
Executive Director & Co-Founder, Women in Global Health
Without women, we won't end the Pandemic. Women in Global Health at the Global COVID-19 Summit
Source: Healthy Newborn Network
Colleagues,
With around 225 million infections and almost 5 million deaths globally, the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a devastating impact upon lives, health and livelihoods - from the immediate health and economic impacts to a broader 'shadow pandemic' of lost jobs, increased unpaid work, stress and violence for women. The pandemic struck a deeply unequal world and has widened those inequalities between and within countries. Global leaders must come together in solidarity, recognising that pandemics do not respect national borders, with the highest level of political commitment to end this pandemic for everyone everywhere.
The U.S. government has launched a Global COVID-19 Summit: Ending the Pandemic and Building Back Better (#COVIDSummit) during the UNGA on September 22nd. This is a significant opportunity to dialogue with global leaders and shape future global pandemic preparedness and response. WGH has been invited to contribute.
The COVID-19 pandemic will leave health and economic scars for generations unless we resolve to make this pandemic a radical break with the past. One of the deepest inequalities - gender inequality - if left unaddressed, will continue to undermine efforts to vaccinate the world, end the pandemic, and strengthen health systems. Global health security cannot be built in a fragile foundation of gender inequality. The COVID-19 pandemic is proof of concept for a gender-responsive approach to hewlth systems and lessons learned from the COVID-19 response are an opportunity to address gender inequality in global health security, as well as global health more broadly. Taking a gender responsive approach to health security remains critical to pandemic response and preparedness for future pandemics.
We hope that the summit will not only set ambitious action on vaccine equity (reaching 70% of the world's population) and funding ($10 Billion for Pandemic Preparedness and Response), but will be gender responsive in its approach. So far, the targets for #COVIDSummit have been gender blind - Summit targets attached - with minimal acknowledgement of the role of the health and care workforce and the women who deliver health and care.
As the U.S. Government mobilizes to address the COVID-19 pandemic, we call on all heads of state and government and global health leaders to hardwire gender equity, especially gender equity in the health and care workforce into every aspect of pandemic response and preparedness.
To Vaccinate the World, Save Lives Now, and Build Back Better:
Women will vaccinate the world and women will save lives; without them we will not be able to vaccinate the world and our health systems will collapse. Women comprise 70% of health workers and have made an extraordinary contribution on the frontlines of this pandemic. Women are the experts in the health systems, yet they are clustered into lower paid and unpaid, lower status jobs, frequently in unsafe working conditions and subject to violence and sexual harassment and left out of decision-making roles. All over the world health workers are planning to leave the profession, particularly women who have shouldered the burden of the pandemic at work and unpaid care work at home.
We are calling on the U.S. Government and global leaders to:
1. Provide health workers, most of whom are women, with safe and decent working conditions, including equitable access to vaccines, testing, appropriate PPE designed for female bodies and mental psychosocial support.
2. Recognize the value of women's underpaid and unpaid work in health by including it in the formal labor market and by providing fair pay and living wages for women’s work.
3. Women will Build Back Better. Include women in global health security decision making structures at all levels and public discourse.
4. Adopt a gender-sensitive approach to health security data collection/analysis and response management to for accurate data and accountability,
5. Fund women's movements to unleash capacity to address critical gender issues.
(Source COVID 50/50: A Gender Responsive Approach to Health Security)
Actions we ask from you:
● Ask governments and other global leaders to invest in the health and care workforce,
especially women in health, who will vaccinate the world and save lives! Given the global shortage of health workers and the devastating impact of the pandemic, we cannot afford to lose even one woman from the profession. Without the
health and care workforce, our health systems will collapse
● Ask political leaders to be guided by values of solidarity, transparency and accountability and build a vision based on gender equality and rights to end this pandemic and prevent future health emergencies
preparedness
● Ask governments to honour commitments made to deliver universal health coverage (UHC) - which must be gender- responsive UHC- by 2030 as the strongest foundation for equality and global health security
● Use WGH #COVID5050 Social Media to Amplify Messaging to Global Actors #COVIDSummit tag key global leaders and organizations (@womeningh)
Women in Global Health are advocating for a new, gender equal social contract for women in the health and care sector. Women want the means - decent work, safety, dignity, fair pay and equal leadership - to do their jobs better and deliver stronger health outcomes for everyone. That new social contract will form the solid foundation for vaccinating the world, saving lives now, building back better and achieving a healthier, more secure future.
Sincerely,
Dr. Roopa Dhatt
Executive Director & Co-Founder, Women in Global Health