Their have been significant progress in women’s health issues and health programmes and screening programs for women’s health. The advances on women’s health programmes are facing the chop because of the economic downturn and in other countries because of civil war and climate and weather related disasters. A two tier health system in most European countries and the absence of a public health care system in the largest continents mean that basic family planning health care and obstetrics are limited or just not accessible for the majority of women.


The equality in the work force mean more and more women are being paid the same rate of pay as men and with the economic down turn the bread winner is predominantly women. Women have more choices in terms of being self sufficient and independent. Women no longer are willing to put up with an unfair regime of pay, health care career opportunities or entitlements in the law or religion. The health of women world wide is essential to the overall function of communities, villages and the world in general.


The health and well being of the children and men in the average family is attributed to the principal care giver typically the woman of the household. Women today especially in third world countries still die at a rate of 537,000 deaths per annum. Over 9 million women each year experience severe complications during child birth. Inadequate family planning or lack of education lead to women having
unplanned pregnancy’s, HIV, sexually transmitted diseases which in turn lead to fertility complications in later years.


For some countries it takes the death of a close family and friend to realise the lack of screening for e.g. for women in terms of breast cancer or ovarian cancer. To redress the balance a lot of European countries such as Ireland have routine mobile breast screening programmes free of charge for women over 50. The resources for women’s health are so limited that it sometimes takes an individual or organization to raise support funds and awareness of the issue to make a significant difference.


Two stories spring to mind, that of Ronan Keating’s loss of his beloved mother prematurely to prompt him to run a breast awareness campaign. And Jade Gooding who’s death prompted 21,674 women across England and Europe to have Cervical Smears done after her untimely death. It is a sad state of affairs that it take a death of a famous person to raise awareness of women’s health and the fact that women are dying of treatable illness all over the world due to lack of medical intervention.


The cost of curing women’s health problems and the emotional and economic devastation of losing the principle care giver in the family far out weigh the price of education, awareness, screening and preventative measures. The majority of women health issues are related to the Menopause, Pregnancy, Breast Disease, Reproductive conditions, Sexual problems, Heart disease, Bone and joint complaints and Urinary tract infections.