Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The past two decades have seen considerable activism by women to improve the quality of their health and health care. There is an increasing danger that these campaigns could be drawn into conflict with each other as they compete for public sympathy and scarce resources.
If conflict is to be avoided there needs to be a much clearer understanding of the impact of both sex and gender on health. This can then provide the foundation for gender sensitive policies that take seriously the needs of both women and men. Men are now following the example of women in drawing attention to the links between gender, health, and health care.
The health of both sexes is influenced by biological factors including, but not confined to, their reproductive characteristics. Socially constructed gender characteristics are also important in shaping the capacity of both women and men to realise their potential for health.
Gender inequalities in access to health promoting resources have damaging effects on women's wellbeing. Men face particular problems because of the relation between masculine identities and risk taking. Greater sensitivity to sex and gender is needed in medical research, service delivery, and wider social policies. The differences between male and female reproductive systems have always been an important consideration in healthcare delivery.
This reflects the crucial role of high quality family planning and obstetric services in enabling women to realise their potential for health. Despite recent progress, around half a million women continue to die each year as a direct consequence of pregnancy and childbirth, and more than 10 times that number are seriously disabled. Given the greater vulnerability of women to reproductive health hazards it is not surprising that these programmes have concentrated mostly on their needs.
