Gender
According to the United Nations, gender equality is fundamental to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, affecting access to quality health care, exposure to health risks, and the outcomes of disease and disability—for children and parents alike. Improvements in health, from lower child mortality to greater access to reproductive care, can alter the power to access gender-related rights and freedoms. This section examines the new ways in which health and gender intersect and reinforce each other
Gender
678
In Kenya, at least 678 women and girls were murdered by intimate partners from 2016 to 2024
Gender-Based Violence in Kenya and U.S. Foreign Aid
190 M
More than 190 million women worldwide live with endometriosis
When Endometriosis Causes Mental Illness
8%
Online-only abortion clinics were found to account for 8% of abortions in the first half of 2023
U.S. Supreme Court Challenge to Abortion Pills Could Boost Illegal Imports
Four Times
Women do up to four times more unpaid care work than men, a gap that will take 210 years to close
Seeking Gender Equality in the Global Health Workforce
16%
Unsafe abortions already make up 16% of all maternal deaths in sub-Saharan Africa
Roe's Repeal Inspires Abortion Rollbacks in Other Countries
48 Million
82.4 million people worldwide were forcibly displaced by the end of 2020—more than half were women and girls
Displaced girls and women
38 Percent
Globally, 38 percent of males between the ages of 15 and 49 are drinking harmful amounts of alcohol
Young Men and Alcohol
70 Percent
70 percent of health-care workers are women
Women health-care workers
11 Percent
Women and girls were 11 percent more likely to drop out of school during the COVID pandemic compared to boys
Education, girls, and COVID-19
1 in 4
One in four U.S. women will have an abortion by age 45
Abortion in the United States
Featured
A Stillbirth Every 10 Seconds
A new study estimates global stillbirths down to 20 weeks' gestation
A Kansas Physician on Post-Roe Abortion Care
An OB-GYN explains the realities of abortion care after Dobbs and how providers are handling the patient overflows
Post-Roe Era Tests Abortion Laws Worldwide
As abortion comes under fire in the United States, some countries have taken a stance toward expanding access
Netflix's Adolescence: Social Change Through Edutainment
The evidence behind the power of educational entertainment to prevent violence against women and children
Using AI to Track Gender-Based Violence
Artificial intelligence allows safe GBV monitoring and reporting in low- or middle-income countries where data is scarce
A Gender Levy for Tobacco, Alcohol, and Other Health-Harming Products
Industries hijack gender norms to sell harm—let's flip the script and fund gender-smart health with sin tax revenue
Women Bear Mexico's Diabetes Crisis
Nearly 10% of Mexico's population lives with diabetes, and women are diagnosed at higher rates than men
Reimagining Sexual and Reproductive Health Without U.S. Involvement
The Helms Amendment and the Mexico City Policy, also known as the Global Gag Rule, are moot without U.S. aid funding
USAID Cuts Could Sever HPV Prevention
Slashing global aid will limit access to the HPV vaccine and widen disparities in cervical cancer
Gender-Based Violence in Kenya and U.S. Foreign Aid
Losing U.S. support will jeopardize access to essential services in Kenya that combat gender-based violence and femicide
How Dating Apps Could Unlock At-Home HIV Testing
A consortium is working with dating apps to support HIV and STI prevention online and at home
Defending the Global Right to Choose
Academics and UN bodies should strategize to counter the renewed threat to women's rights
When Endometriosis Causes Mental Illness
Despite endometriosis's links to psychiatric conditions, health systems fail to train doctors to spot these connections
"Power of Joy": New Film on Childbirth During Ethiopia's Civil War
The documentary follows a girl who survived a harrowing childbirth to become an ambassador for women's health
Intimate Partner Violence in Peru
The country's rates of intimate partner violence are twice the global average