Global Women's Health in the Balance

Eli Y. Adashi, MD, MS, MA (ad eundem), CPE, FACOG

It is in the very nature of humanity that the health of women, and by extension of their children, constitutes an unassailable priority. And yet, as we examine the state of global women's health, an obstinate and disturbing divide appears to persist between the developing and developed segments of the globe. Although women residing in high-income countries have enjoyed the benefits afforded by advanced health care delivery systems, women who make their home in low- and middle-income countries continue to shoulder a frequently unattended heavy disease burden which at times is further accentuated by social and cultural norms.

As this issue of Seminars in Reproductive Medicine makes all too plain, the state of global women's health is far from satisfactory. In addition to coping with communicable maladies, women the world over are increasingly victimized by the ravages of chronic noncommunicable afflictions. Only a sampling of these and related issues are considered here. With fertility and population trends as the backdrop, special mention is being made herein of the family-planning and family-building gaps, the overall importance of which can hardly be overstated. Note is also made of a thorough treatise of maternal mortality and of the neglected birth-related challenge of urinary fistulas and incontinence. Finally, the ongoing scourge of female genital mutilation is reviewed in light of continuing efforts to assure women, girls, and gender equality.

Improving global women's health remains a leading priority. Women and their children deserve nothing less. It is the hope of this guest editor and of the contributors that this compendium has shone a revealing light on this imperative and that concerted efforts will follow.