Abstract

We've come a long way since 1995 and it is time to celebrate women and their achievements. But it is also time to take stock of how women’s rights are fulfilled in the world especially the right to health. Twenty years after countries signed pledges in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action, women still face many health problems and we must re-commit to addressing them.

Here are ten of the main issues regarding women's health that keep me awake at night:

Cancer: Two of the most common cancers affecting women are breast and cervical cancers. Detecting both these cancers early is key to keeping women alive and healthy.

Reproductive health: Sexual and reproductive health problems are responsible for one third of health issues for women between the ages of 15 and 44 years.

Maternal health: Many women are now benefitting from massive improvements in care during pregnancy and childbirth introduced in the last century.

HIV: Three decades into the AIDS epidemic, it is young women who bear the brunt of new HIV infections.