Women leaders representing doctors and corporates on March 8, 2021 underscored the need to change how women are perceived by the society and advocated that women must look after themselves before noting what others need. Attending the summit titled Women’s Health Matters by the Integrated Health and Wellbeing (IHW) Council ahead of International Women’s Day, they hoped that a substantial part of the allocations for Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana, announced during the Union Budget last month, is allocated for women’s health issues.
Noting that gender discrimination is a critical component that impacts women’s health Dr Nandita Palshetkar, Director, Bloom IVF Centres, said: “COVID has hit the women badly – 60 per cent of them have been pushed to poverty and unemployment due to the pandemic and she is 20 per cent more likely to become unemployed than men. We launched a campaign to make women safer from the violence and abuses, smarter in terms of her reproductive choices and stronger by focusing on wellness and mental wellbeing. We definitely need more women-centric policies. We have been focusing a lot on maternal mortality in the past, but the government is now looking at it more holistically, which is a welcome change, and I hope they will prioritise women’s health under the allocations for Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat Yojana.”