women’s health

RECENT POSTS

March 17, 2011 | 8:45 AM | By

Christy Turlington on maternal health & cause celebrities

I caught up with supermodel Christy Turlington Wednesday night as she walked from the Andra Hotel over to the Cinerama Theater for the Seattle screening of her documentary on the global problem of maternal deaths and disabilities caused in childbirth: “No Woman No Cry.”

Tom Paulson

Supermodel Christy Turlington chats with UW supermetrician Chris Murray and communications director Jill Oviatt

Turlington met with a number of local luminaries and experts on matters of global health, like the UW’s Chris Murray (who minutes before closed out a major global health meeting. See Horton post below), at a VIP reception sponsored by the World Affairs Council and the Washington Global Health Alliance. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Health, celebrities, Chris Murray, Christy Turlington, maternal-mortality, women's health
March 8, 2011 | 2:15 PM | By

A century of women’s days: What to celebrate and what not to

Flickr, Prachatai

International Women's Day Thailand

Today is the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a celebration of women born out of the early 20th-century labor and suffragette movements.

Given its original socialist worker underpinnings, it’s perhaps no surprise this day is more widely celebrated in Europe and elsewhere than it has been in the U.S. (where even saying the “S” word seems to cause people to twitch.) Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Justice, human rights, International Womens Day, maternal-mortality, women's health
August 18, 2010 | 6:00 AM | By

Gender-based Global Health?

Indian Mother and Child

Flickr, DFID

Mother and child, Madhya Pradesh, India

Maybe even asking this question is a bad idea. Maybe it’s just me — either because I’m a man and/or a nerd.

But I can’t help but wonder if the latest trend of focusing the global health agenda on women and girls could actually do more harm than good.

There are many reasons why this would seem an obvious choice, why it just makes sense to focus health efforts on women and girls. Here are just a few of those reasons:

  1. Women give birth to all of us. A healthy birth and childhood prevents a lot of ills.
  2. Girls grow up to be women.
  3. Females often get short shrift in many communities and cultures due to gender discrimination. Putting an emphasis on improving female health and welfare can reduce unhealthy inequities.

I don’t think anyone would argue with those fundamental assumptions. Given these realities, it appears both wise and just to focus global health efforts on women and girls.

But how exactly would this be carried out? Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Basics, Health, Justice, Politics, Global Health Initiative, women's health