Women's Contribution to Global Health Care Goes Unrecognized and Unaccounted

A Lancet study has revealed that women are contributing around 3 trillion dollars to global health care, but nearly half of this labor is unpaid, unrecognized and unaccounted for. The study findings suggest that women's contribution to society is under-recognized across a wide spectrum- economically, socially, politically and culturally. The researchers hope that these revelations could influence policy agenda on issues related to women and health. Researchers Ana Langer said, "The paper was the result of the work of 15 dedicated Commissioners that included academics, policymakers, program implementers and advocates - all of them related to this broad, comprehensive construct of women's health from different perspectives. Women in almost every culture and part of the world are the general health care providers in a household. That important role they play is not really recognized as it should, and it's definitely not compensated in most places around the world; and women don't get the training or the support they will benefit from in other levels of the health system."

Touching upon valuing women and how to make today's health systems function better, Felicia Knaul of the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences explained, "Having efficient, responsive, fair and intelligent health systems is very much today the job of women. As it turns out, from the study, health systems are managed by women, both paid and unpaid. More than 50% of graduate students studying to be physicians today are women."

Source-ANI