What Women Want for Economic Empowerment.
Listening to the voices of women and girls is a radical act - and a pathway to lasting improvements in health and wellbeing. Women themselves are best positioned to articulate their priorities, not only for their own health but for their families and communities.
The 2019 What Women Want for Quality Healthcare campaign amplified the voices of more than 127,000 women and girls - who called for respectful maternity care, safe water and sanitation, improved health infrastructure and economic empowerment as fundamental to realising their reproductive and maternal health.
A critical truth
Women's ability to access and sustain quality healthcare is inseparable from their financial strength. Without economic empowerment, women struggle to pay for transport to facilities, afford menstrual and postpartum hygiene products, choose family planning methods, or maintain the nutrition essential for healthy pregnancies and safe births.
The follow-up What Women Want for Economic Empowerment listening exercise surfaced even deeper insights - confirming that economic empowerment is not an isolated demand. It is a cornerstone of maternal and newborn health, and a determinant of the overall wellbeing of women, children and communities.