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TECHNOLOGY CAN ACCELERATE EQUAL ACCESS TO WOMEN’S HEALTH CARE

28 mayo, 2020

Blog

On World Health DayPro Mujer joined forces with Equals Global Partnership members, including GSMA and ITU to host a Twitter Chat. As organizations working to advance gender equality and to provide tools for women and girls to thrive worldwide, we hosted this twitter chat to highlight the positive impact technology can have othe most marginalized communities.  

Across underserved areas around the world, a lack of clinics and hospitals, and infrastructure such as roads or bridges make it difficult for women to access health care. The high costs of care in many countries, to cover expenses like medicine, co-payments or health insurance, can discourage women from prioritizing their health.  The current crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, has been exposing and exacerbating these systemic inequalities. In this context, we saw the opportunity to use this chat as a way to come together to say loudly and clearly: Equal access to technology is critical to closing gender gaps and improving the health of women and girls.  

Participants in the twitter chat answered four main questions and shared resources and stories to make the case. As members of the EQUALS Global Partnership, it is our duty to continue supporting and investing in programs that close the gender gap in technology and consequently impact the lives of women and girls in a myriad of ways, health included.  

TWITTER CHAT QUESTIONS:

  • Please introduce yourself (name, position, organization, country)
  • How can technology impact access to healthcare systems?
  • What does the health care technology landscape look like in Latin America?
  • What’s the next thing we can expect from technology to improving healthcare access?
  • Which organization are doing a great job integrating technology and health care to provicde a high-quality service?

Technology is already helping us improve health care systems around the world by reducing costs, optimizing delivery of basic health care so organizations can reach more people, and offering customized care for women. 

Connectivity has become one of the most pressing challenges to providing health care for women, especially in underserved communities. In Latin America, only 67% of the population has access to the internet. For women who have connectivity, there still remains a lack of mobile apps and platforms designed to provide gender-sensitive care and counseling.  

As technology continues to advance in every aspect so are health care systemsTelemedicine is a clear example of how we are quickly adapting to women’s needsTelemedicine services are a reflection of where we are headed when it comes to health care.  

We want to thank all participants who joined us from around the world. We had people joining us from Niger, Mexico, Canada, and the EE.UU. We are excited to continue promoting these conversations that allow all of us to share resources, knowledge and most importantly to help us collaborate. Increased partnerships in the public-private sectors will be key to increasing our impact awwork collectively for women and girls. Follow the hashtags #EqualsInHealthtech and #WorldHealthDay to see full twitter chat.