Smriti Irani: Normalize Women’s Health

Union Women and Child Development Minister Smriti Irani stressed the need to normalize conversations around women’s health during a session linked to the Women’s Health Programme at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Irani highlighted the historical challenge of women’s healthcare systems or conversations not being mainstreamed.

Irani discussed the initiatives for women’s development post-2014 under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. She emphasized the impact of sanitation on women, noting that a lack of facilities had a negative effect on India’s GDP.

Additionally, Irani mentioned the provision of clean and subsidized cooking fuel to 100 million poor women, saving 400,000 lives per year, according to a WHO report. The Swachh Bharat Mission, launched in 2014, aimed to achieve an Open Defecation Free India by October 2, 2019.

Irani spoke about Ayushman Bharat, serving 440 million Indians across 27,000 hospitals for over 1900 diseases, with 62 million hospital admissions under the program. She highlighted preventive healthcare efforts, such as 120,000 operational health and wellness centers, contributing to economic opportunities for women in the healthcare workforce.

The minister acknowledged the pandemic’s impact, with 6 million women involved in delivering vaccine and pharmaceutical support, and 66% of healthcare workers in India’s operational healthcare and wellness centers being women. Irani called for an alliance to leverage data from companies globally, enhancing the understanding of gender-specific healthcare challenges.

In conclusion, Irani emphasized having ten specific agendas focused on deliverables, addressing medical challenges related to gender through collaboration between policy makers, private sectors, and research institutions.

_{Repurposed article originally published in the Print}