World's Experts Confer on Women's Health Issues

The Global Health Council is holding a conference in Washington, DC, this week to focus on women's health issues. Graca Machel, the wife of former South African president Nelson Mandela, and chair of the conference, talks to us about women's health.

The Global Health Council's annual conference, now in its 28th year, attracts close to 1,500 health and development professionals from around the world. Participants in the conference are primarily global health specialists, including policymakers, program planners, doctors, nurses, social workers, health educators, health economists, researchers, and social scientists. Eighty-five percent of the participants are expected to be US residents and the rest will come from other industrialized and developing countries. More than 70 countries are usually represented.

This year's conference focuses on women and the interplay between women's health and that of families and communities. The effects of natural disasters, wars, and other forms of violence can have a profound effect on health. Growing commercial threats to health, such as tobacco use, call for attention as women and children become targets of the marketing of deadly products. One point of focus is HIV/AIDS, which has hit sub-Saharan Africa the hardest. Twenty-four million people living there are HIV positive--two-thirds of the world's HIV infected population.

Can you tell me about the Global Health Council?

The Global Health Council is an alliance dedicated to global health. Its membership is mainly healthcare professionals and organizations that work on healthcare issues. I am the co-chair of the Global Health Council.

What issues are you working on with the Global Health Council?

Women's health issues. Statistics show that women's health needs to have a greater priority throughout the world. Women die every year from complications of pregnancy and one in four woman between 20 and 29 is infected with HIV. It's because of their gender--because of discrimination against women by men. There are a number of health issues for women and it's important to raise awareness about them. There are several interventions that could help women. There's no sense of urgency in the need to improve women's rights so they have a healthy life. There has been a lot of research that shows that education can help improve the whole health of a family and of an entire community if you improve knowledge of women's health issues. When you look at HIV/AIDS in Africa, women are the caretakers of people suffering from this disease. Education can help this if you improve the health of women. You improve the entire family.

How is Nelson Mandela and what is he doing now?

What kinof projects do you and Mr. Mandela work on together?

We're working on the Global Leadership Initiative, which was launched last May to look at ways to improve the lives of children throughout the world.

About Graca Machel:

Graca Machel is the former first lady and education and culture minister of Mozambique, where she worked to increase literacy and schooling among that nation's children. She was appointed by the United Nations to chair the Study on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, a 2-year inquiry into children and war.

Machel has also served as a delegate to the 1988 UNICEF conference in Harare, Zimbabwe, and as the president of the National Commission of UNESCO in Mozambique. She has spoken of the needs and rights of children, families, and community from platforms all over the world.

Machel is currently the chancellor of the University of Cape Town, and is married to Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa.
©MMII CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed