Amid an escalating anti-rights backlash, health experts have stressed the need for a policy initiative to promote gender equity in health leadership.

'I think the backlash is great, it means we're doing something right. It means we are scaring people a little bit, they are a little lost, they don't know what to do with us, and so they're acting out. That is the idealist part of my brain, but I think what is scary is that [the] backlash everywhere is becoming more and more organised, it is becoming more funded, and it is increasingly using the language that most of us in this room use".

This is according to Sapna Kedia, assistant director for gender and social development at the International Center for Research on Women, who was speaking during a panel discussion on defying backlash while cultivating leadership for gender-responsive health systems.

The panel formed part of the WomenLift Health Global Conference 2024 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, from 6 to 8 April, with the theme "Reimagining leadership: new approaches to new challenges".

The conference is focused on advancing women's leadership in global health and promoting gender equality and includes plenaries, panel sessions and workshops.

The panel included Dr Choolwe Jacobs, head of department for epidemiology and biostatistics in the School of Public Health at the University of Zambia; Rhoda...