Women’s healthcare: the unavailable necessity
Women’s health is the cornerstone of a healthy society. Medical care and societal awareness became a necessity to establish a healthy community. However, this necessity isn’t always available for all women; it is unavailable to women living in zones under crisis. In this article, I will shed light on the importance of women’s health care and the effect of the lack of proper care for women during an emergency.
What is women’s health care?
Women’s health is the health care category that covers all issues unique to women and girls—starting with puberty and menstruation, reproductive health, conception, pregnancy, and childbirth. A woman needs care and guidance throughout each one of these stages, which some are more critical than others.
Women need proper access to sanitary and hygiene products, guidance, and education. A woman also requires medical attention during pregnancy and adequate care during childbirth, which includes pain management, hygiene, and medical assistance.
The existence of basic sanitary and hygienic needs, the ability to provide prenatal health care, and the proper medical care during child labor and afterward are paramount for the woman’s overall health and society’s wellbeing.
Health care for women in times of crisis
We have been witnessing several humanitarian crises this year, starting with the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria, the ongoing war in Ukraine, the mass flooding in Libya, the quake in Morocco, and the ongoing war on Gaza.
Data coming from international NGOs and UN agencies in charge of women’s health and women's care is horrifying. The experiences women and girls endured in all these regions are dreadful, to say the least.
During crises, women face a lack of access to maternal, contraceptive, and childbirth care. This takes a toll on the women’s and girls’ both physical and mental health.
Ukrainian refugees told UNWOMEN workers how pregnant women couldn’t see their doctors, not knowing whether their babies were still alive or not, and how their babies were not receiving the medical attention they needed. The United Nations Fund for Population Activities announced a month ago that there were 50000 pregnant women in Gaza expected to give birth in the upcoming weeks. Doctors Without Borders “Medecins Sans Frontiers” are reporting that women in Gaza are undergoing C-sections without anesthetics! Pregnant women are facing the dangers of miscarriages and premature labor more than ever. During many deliveries, due to excessive bleeding and lack of medical supplies, doctors are forced to perform hysterectomies to stop the bleeding! In addition to all that, premature infants are dying because of the lack of sufficient NICUs.
The UNFPA has recently sounded the alarm on this issue, stating that over four million women and girls around the world are denied essential women’s healthcare needs; the UN is expecting this number to increase with the current events in the Middle East!
To all women and girls suffering around the world, we at Omooma want to let you know that we are thinking of you and are praying for you. We can only hope and dream of peace and harmony instead of crises and wars. We can dream of a world where all girls and women can have access to all they need to stay healthy and safe.
