27

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”.

9