Hologic Global Survey: Wake-up Call On Women's Health

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 17 (Bernama) -- Women’s health worldwide faces an emergency even as the COVID-19 pandemic wanes, according to the Hologic Global Women’s Health Index, one of the largest annual updates on women’s well-being.

According to a statement, this year’s Index which will be released at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, fills a critical gap in knowledge about the health, safety and well-being of women worldwide.

“The Index serves as a wake-up call that improving women’s health needs to be a top priority. If we follow the roadmap set out in this Index, we can meaningfully improve the health and well-being of women for generations to come,” said Hologic Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Stephen P. MacMillan.

Women’s health innovation company Hologic Inc partners with Gallup to create the Index, which in its third year shows that a significant number of women have not been tested for life-threatening conditions, emotional health worsening and nearly a billion women living with physical pain.

Testing for major health conditions remains low with most women did not receive key tests in the past 12 months, whereby only 36 per cent were tested for high blood pressure, 19 per cent (diabetes), 11 per cent (any type of cancer); and 10 per cent (sexually transmitted disease/infection), leaving nearly two billion women of reproductive age at risk of infertility, increased maternal and fetal mortality, and deadly diseases.

The Index also shows that more women are sad, angry and worried now than at the height of the pandemic, with about four in 10 women experiencing worry and stress, and women are more likely than men to report feeling these emotions.

Based on survey responses, the Index assigns a women’s health score to each country or territory. Taiwan led the world for the third consecutive year, scoring 72 out of a possible 100. Other top scores went to Kuwait (68), Austria (67) and Germany (67) while the lowest scores went to the Democratic Republic of Congo (36), Sierra Leone (34) and Afghanistan (26).

The United States fell seven places from its ranking in the second year of the survey to number 30, on par with Kazakhstan, while the United Kingdom and France both scored 60, a few points above the global average.

This year’s Index report includes country spotlights, including case studies on what is working well. South Korea is a consistent leader in cancer testing, and after recent prioritisation, Costa Rica is among the top countries for blood pressure testing.

Based on interviews with more than 147,000 women and men in 143 countries and territories, the Index represents the voices of 97 per cent of the world’s women and girls aged 15 and older.

-- BERNAMA