By Raakhee
Suryaprakash
“Health
security is defined as the provision and maintenance of measures aimed at
preserving and protecting the health of the population as well the policy areas
in which national security and public health concerns overlap.”
—World Health Organisation (WHO)
What
hooked me to this topic was a rather worrying survey. It was conducted by
ASSOCHAM (Associated Chamber of Commerce and Industry) and published ahead of
International Women’s Day 2014 stating that daily “multi-tasking” is taking a
toll on women’s health.
So basically the very fact that women as able multi-taskers
is working against them! And the fact that family and partners conspire to keep
women working after a hard day’s work is literally killing them! The sample
included 2,800 corporate women employees from 120 companies across 11 broad
sectors from Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kolkata,
Lucknow, Mumbai, and Pune.
Some
friends of mine had recently stated that they no longer look forward to
weekends as they work harder and are busier on those days than during the work
week! They no longer exclaim, “Thank God it’s Friday!”
How sad is that ... and
in the context of the above statistics how worrying? The concept of leisure is
being eradicated from the vocabulary of the working mother especially. “Free
time” is hoarded in between endless chores and car-pools and oftentimes eaten
away by so-called insignificant items on the ever-present mental to-do list and
the “always connected” lifestyle aided and abetted by the “smart” phone!
Work-Life balance seems to be compromising the health of women!
The
Indian Constitution charges every state with "raising the level of
nutrition and the standard of living of its people and the improvement of
public health as among its primary duties." Despite being a destination for Health
Tourism access to quality healthcare is a major issue especially rural India. I
started researching health stats taking my college research on India’s health
security as the starting point. What’s worrying is that nearly a decade down
the line health statistics hasn’t improved significantly and in many cases
especially with regard to women the situation has worsened. Being polio-free
remains our sole significant achievement
way back in 2005 and today in 2014!
Many
women and girls across the globe remain without access to basic sanitation,
which in turn affects their dignity, health, and safety. According to a 2008
estimate more than 122 million Indian households have no toilets, and 33% lack
access to latrines – over 50% of the population (638 million) defecate in the
open. Consider these in the context of the recent headline “680 million Indian
lack the means to meet their essential needs.” Sustainable access to water and
sanitation is crucial to enable girls and women to participate in education and
employment. E.g., a Tanzanian study shows, reducing the distance to a water
source from 30 to 15 minutes increased girl’s school attendance by 12%.
Despite
a higher life-expectancy (67 years: 64 years) women in India have a poor
quality of life in many ways because India is one of the worst countries in the
world in terms of gender inequality (2011 UNDP's Human Development Report
ranked India 132 out of 187). India’s alarming sex ratio has an adverse effect on all other
statistics. The Gender Chart released in March 2014 by the UN Statistics
Division and UN Women shows only 2% of all aid went to gender equality in 2011-2012.
Indian maternal mortality rate (MMR) is 212 (per 100000 live births) according
to statistics from India’s National Health Profile 2012. MMR is a millennium
development goal (MDG) indicator and India’s target for 2015 is 109. According
to a Government of India survey (1998-1999) MMR in rural areas is one of the
highest in the world and is approximately 132% the number in urban areas. In
South Asia as a whole “urban women in the highest wealth quintile are six times
as likely to have access to skilled attendance at delivery as rural women in
the poorest quintile.”
Domestic
violence – acts of physical, psychological, and sexual violence against women –
is currently viewed as a hidden epidemic by the WHO. Economies of nations where
domestic violence is prevalent tend to have lower female labour participation
rate, in addition to higher medical expenses, and higher rates of disability.
On a positive note, a 2005 study found that the incidence of domestic violence
against women dropped dramatically with women's ownership of immovable
property.
Gender
inequity remains the iniquity in the field of health security as well. E.g., women
patients with congenital heart disease in India were less likely to be operated
on than men because families felt that the scarring from surgery would make the
women less marriageable; families failed to seek medical treatment for their
daughters because of the stigma associated with negative medical histories; a
study in 2011 found out of 100 boys and girls with congenital heart disease, 70
boys would have an operation while only 22 girls will receive similar
treatment.
Until
access to adequate healthcare and nutrition and gender inequity are addressed
health security will continue to be elusive. “Improving the health outcomes can
contribute to economic gain through the creation of quality human capital and
increased levels of savings and investment.” Proving once and for all Health is
Wealth and a nation cannot be secure without being healthy.
Table:
Impediments to the well-being of the female – with a South Asian and Indian
focus.
References:
- “75 p.c. of working women have health problems: Survey,” The Hindu, March 9, 2014, Sunday; http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/75-pc-of-working-women-have-health-problems-survey/article5764912.ece
- 58th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women: http://www.unwomen.org/en/news/in-focus/csw/speeches-and-statements#sthash.vICK8oQ6.dpuf http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/News/In%20Focus/UNwomen_JointStatementPoster_CSW58_2014_nomarks%20pdf.pdf
- Raakhee Suryaprakash: “India’s Questionable Health: Health Security Situation in a Developing Nation--A Study of the Indian situation,” for the National Seminar COMPREHENSIVE SECURITY ISSUES AND CHALLENGES: AN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE, Department of International Studies, Stella Maris College, 2005.