WHO Elections and Gender in the Global Health Landscape
Gender matters: we can’t deny that it affects almost every aspect of health. Worldwide, inequities in access to healthcare, education, and social rights have led women to experience a disproportionate burden of disease and death. Yet, leadership in the global health sector is highly skewed towards men and it would be both irresponsible and foolish to claim that this gender disparity doesn’t affect the nature of the health policies that are being conceived. In fact, randomized trials have demonstrated that women draft policies that better reflect the health needs of women and children. For example, a recent study in India that examined neonatal mortality by district showed that for every, “one standard deviation increase in the number of female-held seats in the district council, neonatal mortality dropped by 1.5%.”
Thus, naturally, increasing female leadership in global health and evening out the playing field would be the next fundamental steps towards a healthier society.
With the election for the next WHO Director General (DG) coming up in May 2017, an inspection of the priorities and pledges of the three DG candidates will act as a telling indicator of the positioning of gender in the future of global health. The candidates for this top leadership position are Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the former Ethiopian Minister of Health and Foreign Affairs; Dr David Nabarro, a British medical doctor, international civil servant and Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General; and Dr. Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani cardiologist who served in the interim federal cabinet overseeing public health, education and science.
Among the three, Dr Tedros A. Gebreyesus is the only candidate to include women’s health in his five leadership priorities for the WHO. Dr. Gebreyesus is a longtime champion of gender equality and the rights of women and girls. As the Ethiopian Minister of Health, he facilitated critical health investments, creating community-based and community-driven health systems that placed women at the core. His efforts resulted in doubling the percentage of Ethiopian women with access to contraception, and reducing maternal mortality by 75%. As he considers gender inequity a crucial determinant of global health, Dr. Gebreyesus promises to increase investments for the empowerment of women and girls and hold governments accountable for their commitments.
On the contrary, neither Dr. David Nabarro nor Dr. Sania Nishtar has listed gender equality and women’s health as priorities for the WHO. Although both candidates do recognize the important role of healthy women in development, Dr. Nabarro and Dr. Nishtar have set different agendas for the organization. As the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General on Ebola, Dr. Nabarro stresses the need to transform the WHO to respond to outbreaks and health emergencies, advance people-centered health policies, and ensure trusted engagements between Member States. On the other hand, Dr. Nishtar, the sole female DG candidate, is committed to aligning the WHO’s initiatives with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), reforming the WHO into “an effective, well-managed, transparent, accountable and cohesive organization, which achieves value for money”, and collaborating with appropriate partners to improve global health.
The dynamics of the WHO could potentially change under the leadership of a newly elected Director General. It is essential that the next DG continue the momentum for gender diversification in global health by institutionalizing gender equitable practices across all levels of the organization. And if the next DG were to lead by example with a gender lens, imagine the rippling effect gender egalitarianism could have on the global health landscape.