AS vulnerable populations continue to grapple with various diseases, G20 countries have been urged to improve the health of women, children, and adolescents across the world.
The former Prime Minister of New Zealand who is also the Board Chairman of Partnership for Maternal Newborn and Child Health (PMNCH) a sublet of WHO, Helen Clark and Amitabh Kant, India's G20 Sherpa collectively made the call in an opinion piece made available to Vanguard.
They pointed out that the G20 countries are home to two-thirds of the global population.
Therefore, asserted that actions on health matters taken collectively have impact on global scale, hence investing in the health of women, children, and adolescents remains paramount, cardinal and health is critical to global economic sustainability.
"Every year, across all G20 countries, nearly two million preventable deaths occur among mothers, newborns, children, and adolescents--including stillbirths.
"In recent years, the key drivers of these negative outcomes have included the "four Cs": covid-19, conflict, climate change, and the cost of living crisis.
"These factors have combined to inflict immense damage on the health and wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents.
However, they pointed out that systemic discrimination and an increase in extreme weather events, food insecurity, and poverty had remained major causes of the lack of progress and impact on the health of women, children, and adolescents over the years.
"In 2000, the climate emergency was already responsible for more than 150 000 deaths worldwide and an increasing global burden of disease, 88% of which fell on children.34 It is estimated that 80% of people displaced by the climate emergency are women, largely due to economic and social disparities between genders", they said.
Meanwhile, they said India currently holds the G20 presidency, which she has demonstrated commitment to achieve universal health coverage, and improving healthcare service delivery globally.
"For example, India has proposed several initiatives for digital health solutions as part of a digital strategy launched in 2021. These digital tools enabled the registration of a billion people in order to monitor immunisation coverage, and the administration of more than 1.78 billion doses of the covid-19 vaccine", they said.
They also mentioned that G20 countries are to prioritise increased cross-cutting financing to strengthen health systems, enhance access to essential health services, and address the social determinants of health including poverty and gender inequality.
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They also called for investments in physical and digital infrastructure through a gender lens, which according to them could reduce the burden of unpaid work, improve wellbeing, create jobs, increase labour force participation, reduce the digital gender gap, bolster productivity, and foster economic growth.
They expressed concern as many countries are still grappling with pre-pandemic levels of health expenses which had thousands when a negative toll on the health of women, children, and adolescents globally.
"We need robust data systems to monitor and implement policies and programmes effectively. Given that G20 countries account for approximately 85% of global GDP, two-thirds of the global population and carry significant political influence, they are well positioned to advance research and the development of new and improved health technologies and vaccines. When investing in these areas and making decisions, it is essential to meaningfully engage women, children, and adolescents.
"Investing in the early years of childhood is vitally important, including in family-friendly policies and universal social protection. Such investments can boost cognitive capital--the complete set of intellectual skills, primarily nurtured prenatally and in early childhood, that determines human capabilities--leading to inclusive economic growth.10 Tackling youth unemployment across the G20 requires developing adolescents' skills, such as digital literacy, and building technology-driven and environmentally conscious growth."
"The G20 must prioritise the health and wellbeing of women, children, and adolescents by making it a permanent fixture on its agenda for action", they added.
