W20 establishes the Commission for equal health between men and women

Men and women are physically different, and gender differences affect health status and on the development of pathologies, but also on the frequency of symptoms and the severity of the diseases, on the response to therapies and on adverse drug reactions. This is why a gender approach in clinical practice allows more appropriate and personalized care, also taking into account not only biological but also environmental, cultural and socio-economic variables.

And that’s why the W20 (the G20 engagement group specialized on gender equality, composed of over 90 delegates from 20 countries, with the aim of elaborating policy proposals and recommendations to the leaders of the G20 member countries), for the first time, spoke of “Gender medicine” in all its aspects, e established the Equity in Health Commission to promote targeted actions e increase investment in effective strategies to address gender inequalities in health systems.

The professor is presiding over the Commission Flavia Franconi, which was one of the first in Italy to deal with this issue and which was also appointed member of the National Observatory dedicated to gender health. «We often forget that health, a primary good, is not an isolable value, but is influenced not only by our body, but also by psychological, behavioral, cultural, environmental, geographical and economic factors. Biological and gender factors are closely intertwined and often not detangled », Flavia Franconi explained. “For example, the pandemic has hit women’s jobs because they are more precarious and because they work in the sectors most affected by the lockdown in this situation it worsens the mental health of women, so the disease does not come only from the body. Therefore, to treat these women, we need to adopt policies that support women and not just treat them with drugs. So, in my opinion, gender medicine is truly personalized and holistic medicine ».

The first objective of the Commission, which includes the greatest Italian and international experts in the field of gender health, is that of produce a document for submission to G20 leaders to improve the sphere of women’s health and tackle gender inequalities in health systems.

“Gender medicine studies the impact of the difference between men and women, not only at the reproductive and social level, but also at the immunological and genetic level”, explained Sandra Zampa, former undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, in a meeting on Zoom. “Overcoming the gender gap in all fields health care will also help us to deal with the consequences of the lockdown ”.

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