World Justice Forum IV | Access to Health: A Better Life for Women and Girls

At World Justice Forum IV, panelists Jimmie Briggs, founder of the ManUp Campaign; Sabiha Husic, director of MedicaZenica; renowned scholar and activist Nawal el Saadawi; and Angela Pinzon, Professor of Medicine at University El Rosario, examined the relationship between the status and rights of women and the pervasive health issues that they face, discussing efforts to improve access to health services, clean water and sanitation, as well as commodities in the supply chain to integrate services of health, education and nutrition.

Women’s health is much more than a medical issue; it is a cultural, political, economic, and social justice issue. In many countries, females are in danger from birth by virtue of their gender. Even before birth, sex-selective abortion is widespread, and sex ratios in several countries have been unbalanced because hundreds of thousands of girls have “disappeared” without explanation. Women also face the risk of human trafficking, genital mutilation, or preventable childbirth-related injuries and illnesses.  In warzones, three out of four fatalities are women and children.