European countries prioritize women's health differently, the Hologic global index shows. Austria has been successful in implementing a comprehensive action plan for women's health launched in 2017, which has led to its ranking at the top of the global ranking.
Countries where women's health comes first – Photo Archive
Germany, Denmark, Poland and the Czech Republic also achieved outstanding positions in women's health, recognized for their efforts in promoting access to healthcare and addressing issues related to emotional health and food security.
However, Romanian women suffer because of the health system. The score for preventive care has fallen from 30 to 23 in the past year, placing us 56th globally and last in Europe for prevention. At the same time, when it comes to women's individual health, our country ranks 97th out of the 143 states analyzed by the Hologic study. The report looks at the well-being of 79,000 women by assessing preventive care, emotional health, basic needs and individual health. Specifically, Romania ranks 65th in the world, with a score of 54 out of 100, where 0 represents the worst possible and 100 the best. Only Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova, Albania, Georgia and Turkey are worse than us.
Women's health, a global emergency
The report found that almost half of women in the EU had their blood pressure measured in the last 12 months, while one in five women had been screened for cancer. During the same period, 24% of women were tested for diabetes. Fewer than one in ten women have been tested for sexually transmitted diseases or infections, which are risk factors for HIV, cancer and infertility.
Comparatively, in our country, 43% of women measured their blood pressure, 26% were tested for diabetes, only one in ten was tested for cancer (12%), while 9% of women were tested for sexually transmitted diseases or infections. This while cardiovascular diseases and cancer are the main causes of death in Romania.
What to do
Experts point out that to reduce mortality from such diseases, access to tests and screening is extremely important, and attention to women's health would be beneficial for the economy and society.
Another recent study, published by Lancet Public Health, shows that women live longer than men, but spend more years with health problems. Women are mainly affected by non-fatal conditions that cause disability, such as musculoskeletal problems and mental health disorders.
Janet Lindsay, CEO of Wellbeing of Women, told Euronews that “we should make sure we invest much more in women's health research to innovate diagnostics, prevention and treatments“.
More research and resources are needed for issues specific to women, such as menstruation and menopause. However, femtech, the technology that addresses women's health, has attracted only two percent of venture funding in the healthcare industry, according to Deloitte.
