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Women in Healthcare
Concluding remarks
Prof Jerry Coovadia
ProfessorHoosenMohammed
(Jerry)
Coovadia
renowned
medicalICONandcurrentlya
Director–MatCH
(Maternal,Adolescentand
ChildHealth).
Hehaspublishedmorethan338scientific
papersandhasreceivedanumberof
awardsincludingtheSilverMedalfor
ExcellenceinResearch(MedicalResearch
Council),theStarofSouthAfricafor
ContributionstoDemocracy&Health
(PresidentMandelaandtheLifetime
AchievementAward(HIVCongress-India).
In2009,theprestigiousmedicaljournal,
TheLancet,calledhim“agiantofmedicine
inSouthAfrica”andin2013hereceivedthe
MeritAwardfromtheSocietyforAIDSin
Africa(SAA).Hehasbeenreferredtoasthe
“MandelaofMedicine”andaoneof
eThekwini’sLivingLegends.Heiscurrently
involvedinthedevelopmentoftheKZN
Children’s’
Hospital,
work
with
internationalagenciessuchasUSAIDand
ongoingHIV/AIDSresearch.
Thishasbeenanastonishinglysuccessfulconference
onwomenandtheirroleinthemultiple,overlappingand
complicated
aspectsofthehealthsystem.Atone
extreme,
women
remain
subjected
to
gender
discriminationwhichcanresultinshortenedlifespans
comparedtowomeninsimilarsettingsinotherpartsof
theworld.Ifoundthiscomparisontobequiterevealing
astheusualdistinctionsinsuchdiscussionaredrawn
betweenmenandwomen.Theevidencesuggestthat
thewomenareatthecentreofthefourwelldescribed
majorcollidingepidemicswhichafflictourpopulations.
Thereforewomenhaveconsiderablemorbidityinthe
countryandnumerousexampleswerepresentedto
provethesepoints.Rapeofwomenandviolence
againstthem,particularlyinterpersonalviolence,arethe
brutaloutcomesofthesehorrifyingandcriminalsocial
processes.Therearenoeasysolutionsastheproblems
areoftenintractable.However,DrSibongileZungu,the
HeadofProvincialHealth,touchedonsomeimportant
socialareasforaddressingtheseproblems;she
considerednotonlycurrentdisordersaffectingwomen
butthelikelihoodofpersistenceoftheseintothefuture.
Thehopesandfearsofwomenforthefutureinterms
ofhealthservicesandaccesstothesewasaconcern
repeatedlymade.Shespokeofself-care,awarenessin
theyoungofdiseaseandsafetyandprevention,the
oftenparlousstateofhumanresourcesforhealthinthe
provinceandthetremendousbarrierstocompeting
witharichlyresourcedprivatesectorcomparedtoa
lesserendowedpublicsector.
Itbecameclearthroughthemeetingthattheprevailing
inequitiesinthehealthsectorandthelargeburdenof
diseasebornebywomenweretheprimeconcernsof
theparticipants.Therewasanunusualsectiononthe
“passionsandcommitments”ofwomeninthe
audiencewhichgaveareflectiveglimpseoftheinner
worldofagroupofliterateandsocially-conscious
womeninthecountry.Inevitablytherewasmuchto
addaboutthebarrierstoasoundandjusthealthsystem
andtheinterventionstoovercomethese.Thisanalysis
includedthecentralrolesofproviders,payers,and
recipientsofhealthservices,andindeedthestructure
andoptimalfunctionsofthehealthsystem.Afine
summaryofthefactorswhichinhibitprogressand
thosewhichenablechangeandthepowertoovercome,
wasveryuseful.
ThelessoninthisReportonthepassionofindividuals
forthesubjectofwomenandhealth,shouldnotbe
consideredsecondarytothecompellinghardstatistical
dataonhealth;indeedthesepersonalstoriesareas
criticalasharddataasnotedunderfromNobelLaureate
Kahneman’sbook“Thinking:FastandSlow”2011:
“Thetestoflearningiswhetheryourunderstanding
changeswhenanewfactislearned.Thereisagap
betweenthinkingaboutbroadgeneralfacts[e.g.
statisticaldata]comparedtowhatyoucanlearnfrom
personalexperienceorindividualexperiences”.
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