First Lady Margaret Kenyatta Wednesday told an international congress of doctors gathering in the Port City of Cape Town that health issues facing women and girls go beyond medicine and must be addressed holistically.
She said the health issues facing women are as diverse as the women themselves and are not limited to scientific and biological components, but informed by socio-economic, political and cultural realities that also differ across communities and regions.
She said health issues involving women and girls are also complex and divergent, some systemic.
The First Lady said that for any health interventions to succeed among women and girls they must be sensitive to their needs, desires beliefs and orientations of affected groups and communities.
“World views must not be imposed. Solutions must be co-owned by communities”
The First Lady spoke at the just concluded Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG-2017) World Congress at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, South Africa, that brought together over 2300 health professionals drawn from 77 countries, 22 from Africa.
She said medical and scientific health responses to women and girls risk failure unless they are adapted to cultural contexts and account for nuance for the people they seek to assist.
The theme of her keynote address was women and girls Health in Africa—Shifting the Paradigm.
“As we strive to create interventions to support the health of women and girls, we should not overlook the simple for the spectacular”, said the First Lady who was also honoured with the Honoris Causa Award for her unflinching commitment to end maternal and child mortality in Kenya under the Beyond Zero initiative.
RCOG, which has 14000 members from across the world, awards the Fellowships of Honoris Causa in recognition of the work of individuals who are not members of the global association but who have immensely contributed to the advancement of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Women’s Health Services or work of the RCOG.
The Honorary Fellowships are the highest Awards by the RCOG and are given following a rigorous exercise of screening and vetting by the Council.
The First Lady said besides fighting from relevant fronts against the health challenges facing women, there is also need to address the fundamental issues that have led to the historic marginalization of women and girls.