Gender disparity in health worrisome, says WHO

Aditi Tandon 

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 7

Ahead of the International Women’s Day, the WHO today urged countries to ensure gender parity in health noting that bulk of deaths due to household pollution in the Southeast-Asian region involved women. This region comprises 11 countries, including India.

“Due to the economic structure of many households, investing in a woman’s or girl’s health is often overlooked in favour of other priorities,” WHO’s Regional Director Poonam Khetarpal Singh said today. The WHO stressed the need for universal health access saying women were at the receiving end getting a miniscule share in healthcare delivery. The WHO expressed concern on the larger mortality burden of women on account of household pollution.

The WHO recently published a report, “Health and the Environment: Addressing the Health Impact of Air Pollution”, which detailed the scenario of outdoor air pollution saying deaths due to such pollution had increased by fourfold globally over the past decade. On outdoor pollution, India and China were said to be the worst affected nations. The report revealed that of 4.3 million global deaths annually, India accounted for 1.4 million. In India, air pollution is the fifth leading cause of death after BP, indoor air pollution tobacco smoking and poor nutrition.