E/1999/27 E/CN.6/1999/10 Annex I Summaries of the panel discussions on the critical areas of concern A. Women and health: moderator’s summary 1. On 3 March 1999, the Commission held a panel discussion at its 5th meeting, followed by a dialogue at its 6th meeting, on women and health, one of the critical areas of concern in the Platform for Action adopted at Beijing. The panellists were Sandra Dean-Patterson (Bahamas), Coordinator of Health Social Services, Ministry of Housing and Social Development; Mahmoud F. Fathalla (Egypt), Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Assiut University; Stephen Matlin (United Kingdom), Director of Human Resource Development Division, Commonwealth secretariat; and Peter Piot, Executive Director of the Joint and Cosponsored United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. 2. Participants at the panel discussion and dialogue noted that the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development held at Cairo made a link between women’s human rights and women’s health and reproductive rights. Inattention to and neglect of women’s health issues in the legislative and regulatory frameworks of countries were recognized as part of systematic discrimination against women. 3. Concern was expressed that poverty remains a root cause of women’s ill health. Several speakers noted that globalization and the current economic crisis in some regions have had adverse effects on national health systems and have also affected health services for women. Gender-neutral formulations referring to such objectives as “cost reduction” frequently include hidden gender implications negative to women. Shrinking public resources for health care are cushioned by the voluntary contributions of women, for whom the care for ailing family members is an additional burden. A few speakers also expressed concern about the impact of armed conflict, occupation, political embargo and natural disasters on women’s health in their countries. Since many problems could not be solved by individual countries on their own, an appeal was made for assistance and international cooperation. 4. There was general agreement to look beyond the sexual and reproductive health of women and to focus on their different needs throughout the whole life cycle, a perspective set by the Beijing Platform for Action. Women’s health is vulnerable before and after the reproductive years and needs to be considered in a holistic way. Since the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, steps have been taken by many countries to address specific health problems of women, such as breast cancer and cancer of reproductive organs, osteoporosis and adolescent eating disorders, and to find remedies for these gender-specific medical problems through the introduction of nutritional education for older women, increased access to mammograms and the availability of health-related counselling for adolescent girls. 5. Among the areas of concern in women’s health, the high rate of maternal mortality remains at the centre of attention. It was recalled that pregnancy is not a disease but a means of societal survival and continuation, and that society must protect pregnant women. The provision of essential obstetric services is a necessity to save the life of mothers at risk from complications during pregnancy and delivery and after childbirth. Health professionals and women’s organizations should make greater efforts to implement the World Health Organization Safe Motherhood Initiative. It was deplored that far too many women die from complications after illegal abortions. As agreed at Beijing and Cairo, efforts should be made to eliminate or decrease the need for abortion. One representative informed the panel that 51