PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
In celebration of International Women’s Day 2019, the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH) calls on stakeholders to implement its
“EU Manifesto for Women’s Health”
in order to ensure a #BalanceforBetter in Europe
8th of March 2019— Since 2014, International Women’s Day (IWD) has been held on the 8th of March each year to celebrate women’s achievements and to call for continued change to promote gender equity. The European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH) supports this year’s theme, “#BalanceforBetter,” a call for action to eliminate gender inequities.
In celebration #IWD2019, the EIWH is doing its part to drive gender balance and is calling on Europe to implement its EU Manifesto for Women’s Health” in order to ensure #BalanceforBetter in policies and programming. We call on stakeholders to work together to reduce this impact. The EIWH is continuing its campaign Healthy Women—Healthy Europe calling on Europe to prioritise women’s health, thereby improving the health of all.
Biological and social influences (sex and gender) are critical to health. Many factors outside of the health sector—such as socioeconomic status, education, culture and ethnicity—affect behaviour and resource access. Women play a vital role as healthcare professionals, caregivers, patients, mothers, daughters and friends, particularly in an ageing Europe.
Sex and gender have important implications for health and healthcare. Health systems should be highly responsive to women, but too often fail them. Gender equity and women’s health are being prioritised internationally. Europe must do more to follow suit and make women’s health a central focus today.
The EU must translate sex and gender differences into regulatory and healthcare practice now. Sex and gender must be systematically integrated into research, including mandatory data disaggregation by sex, gender and age. Women’s health should be included in all policies that affect health, including socioeconomic influences. Europe must invest in a life-course approach to health promotion and disease prevention at critical points from pre-conception to childhood through older age. Together we must ensure equity of opportunities for women and men in all policies to foster a Healthy Europe.
The EU Manifesto for Women’s Health highlights some central issues in women’s health and calls on the Europe to do more now. European stakeholders must work together to enact, enforce, support, protect, partner, share and research. Only through concerted, tangible, concrete and swift action can women’s health be improved across the EU.
The EIWH would like to thank Ms. Deirdre Clune, MEP from Ireland, was the first signatory of the EU Manifesto for Women’s Health. We’d like to applaud the other MEPs who have also signed the Manifesto—Mrs. Julie Girling from the UK, Mr. Sean Kelly from Ireland, Ms. Marian Harkin from Ireland, FEMM Committee chair, Ms. Vilija Blinkevičiūtė from Lithuania and Ms. Marisa Matias from Portugal. We encourage all other MEPs to follow suit and priortise women’s health.
Join us to prioritise women’s health in the EU:
The EIWH’s EU Manifesto for Women’s Health and supporting documents are available online: https://eurohealth.ie/manifesto2018/. All in Europe are invited to sign the Manifesto and call on their representatives to reduce health inequities. To sign the Manifesto, please email info@eurohealth.ie.
Please visit our website (https://www.eurohealth.ie) and follow us on Twitter (@EIWH) for more updates on the Manifesto and our campaign Healthy Women—Healthy Europe. Only through concerted action together can we reduce inequities and improve women’s health across Europe.
For more information, please visit:
- European Institute of Women’s Health website: https://eurohealth.ie/
- EU Manifesto for Women’s Health: https://eurohealth.ie/manifesto2018/
- International Women’s Day website: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/IWD2019
About the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH)
Founded in 1996, the European Institute of Women’s Health (EIWH) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) that uses an evidence-based to advocate for an equitable, sex- and gender-sensitive approach in health policy, research, promotion, treatment and care. The Institute promotes biomedical and socio-economic research that addresses sex and gender-based differences to ensure access to quality treatment and care for women across their lifespan. The EIWH strives to reduce inequities by drawing policymaker’s attention to the obstacles that women in minority, migrant, refugee and socio-economic disadvantaged groups face. The Institute’s activities work to empower individuals to play an active part in their own health management.
European Institute of Women’s Health, CLG • 33 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Register Charity Number 20035167 • CHY Number 12184
Phone: +353-1-671-5691 • Fax: +353-1-671-5662 • Email: info@eurohealth.ie
Website: https://www.eurohealth.ie