Transformative Health Strategies for Reducing Gender Disparities in Global Health Outcomes

The World Bank Gender Thematic Policy Notes emphasize the need for systematic approaches and investments in health services, leadership equality, and innovative technologies to address gender disparities and improve health outcomes under universal health coverage. Key priorities include comprehensive reproductive health services, mental health coverage, and gender-responsive pandemic preparedness.

The World Bank Gender Thematic Policy Notes series underscores the intrinsic link between gender and health, highlighting the critical need to address gender disparities to enhance human capital and health outcomes. Achieving gender equity in health is essential and necessitates a systematic approach across health systems, with universal health coverage (UHC) serving as a foundational platform. The thematic note identifies five priority areas for investment to reduce gender gaps in health: comprehensive sexual, reproductive, adolescent, and maternal health services; healthcare coverage for older adults, particularly women; support for gender equality in health leadership; mental health coverage under UHC; and the reduction of gender disparities in pandemic preparedness and emergency response.

Empowering Women Through Comprehensive Health Services

The document emphasizes the significance of providing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services, including family planning, to empower women and other gender identities. It stresses the necessity of healthcare coverage for older women under UHC to support healthy aging, as well as the need for integrated long-term and community-based care models. Furthermore, the document highlights the importance of gender equality in health leadership to influence laws, policies, and regulations, and to address gender biases in medical training and career advancement.

Mental Health as a Crucial Aspect of UHC

Mental health coverage is also crucial, as it helps reduce gender gaps in access to and use of services for all genders. The document calls for reducing gender disparities in pandemic preparedness and emergency response, ensuring the continuity of essential health services, and including women in leadership and decision-making bodies.

World Bank's Commitment to Gender Equality in Health

The World Bank’s commitment to gender equality in health is demonstrated through its policies, strategies, and operational actions, particularly under IDA commitments. The Global Financing Facility for Women, Children, and Adolescents (GFF) has been instrumental in improving reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition in 36 low and lower-middle-income countries. The document also discusses the role of the private sector in health systems, highlighting its contributions to research and development, product manufacturing and distribution, and service provision.

Innovative Technologies Bringing Health Services Closer

The note emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to address gender inequalities in health, including the use of digital technology innovations to bring services closer to people. For instance, the World Bank partnered with the Consumer Technology Association for the Global Women’s HealthTech Awards in 2022, recognizing private sector innovations like NIRAMAI and UE LifeSciences. NIRAMAI developed a software-based medical device for early-stage breast cancer detection that is low-cost, accurate, automated, and portable. UE LifeSciences created iBreastExam, a radiation-free device for early-stage breast cancer detection that is low-cost and requires minimal training. These innovations have significantly improved access to cancer screening for women in countries such as Egypt, India, and Botswana.

Successful Interventions and Future Actions

The document provides examples of successful interventions, such as the Sierra Leone Health Service Delivery & System Support Project and the Uganda Reproductive, Maternal, and Child Health Services Improvement Project. These projects have improved maternal and child health outcomes by increasing skilled attendance at birth and ensuring better access to essential health services. In Sierra Leone, investments contributed to a 15-percentage point increase in skilled attendance at birth and a significant increase in community health worker coverage in hard-to-reach areas. In Uganda, skilled attendance at birth increased by 21 percentage points, and maternal death audits rose significantly.

The note also highlights the Investing in Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health project in Senegal, which improved the utilization of modern contraceptive methods among adolescent girls. Additionally, the First Laying the Foundation for Inclusive Development Policy Financing in Niger enabled married adolescent girls to access family planning without requiring parental or spousal accompaniment, marking a significant step towards women’s empowerment. The Sahel Women’s Empowerment and Demographic Dividend (SWEDD) program, working in countries like Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger, aims to enhance the status of adolescent girls, empower women, and increase their access to quality education and health care services. SWEDD has trained thousands of midwives, increased contraceptive use, and supported millions of people with social and behavior change communication.

The document outlines proposed actions to promote gender-responsive and transformative policies and programs, focusing on strengthening sexual and reproductive health care, promoting gender equity in health for aging populations, supporting gender equality in health leadership, improving access to mental health services, and ensuring gender-responsive pandemic preparedness. It calls for dedicated data collection and analysis on gender gaps in health among aging populations and highlights the need for interventions that empower women and other gender identities across their life course. Achieving gender equality in health requires addressing barriers within and outside the health system, improving health outcomes for women, men, and other gender identities, and capitalizing on current engagement to sharpen focus on emerging and priority areas.