The year 2025 marks 30 years since the landmark Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action was adopted in 1995. Despite rising anti-rights and anti-gender pushes, some progress on these bold promises gives hope and strength, to strive for achieving SDG5 fully by 2030 or earlier.

“As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and its Platform for Action this year, we are called to reflect not only on how far we have come but how far we must still go. The Beijing Declaration was a bold promise to the world's women and girls that their rights, dignity and health would be non-negotiable, that promise remains unfulfilled,” said Nazneen Damji, Chief (ad interim), Governance and Participation Section, and Senior Policy Advisor, Gender Equality, HIV and Health, UN Women.

"Universal health coverage cannot be truly universal if it does not prioritise gender equality and human rights. Health systems that ignore the unique needs and barriers faced by women and girls are not only unjust, they are ineffective," she said in her video message at a special Side Event alongside WHA78 organised by Global Centre for Health Diplomacy and Inclusion (CeHDI), International Planned Parenthood Federation, Fos Feminista, CNS, and partners.

"We are facing a rising coordinated push back on women's and girls’ health and rights, particularly their sexual and reproductive health and rights. In just the past few months we have seen drastic funding cuts, impacting not only civil society and governments, but also UN agencies that provide abortion care and life-saving HIV treatment. This is not just a budget issue, it is a crisis of political will. Let us be clear: sexual and reproductive health and rights are not optional, they are fundamental human rights and yet only 56% of married women aged 15 to 49 can make decisions about their own reproductive health. This is not a statistic, it is a reflection of deep-rooted structural inequalities and harmful social norms that continue to deny women agency over their own bodies,” said Nazneen Damji of UN Women.

The consequences are devastating:

- Every 2 minutes a woman dies from preventable pregnancy related causes

- In 2023, over 700 women died each day from complications that could have been avoided with access to quality care

- HIV incidents among adolescent girls and young women remains alarmingly high in parts of sub-Saharan Africa where they are more than three times as likely to acquire HIV as their male peers in at least 22 countries

Gender discrimination block access to healthcare

Racism, stigma, and gender-based discrimination within healthcare settings block access to healthcare services. "Survivors of gender-based violence also need access to healthcare services. But that is often restricted for a wide variety of reasons including financial barriers, lack of capacity of the health system itself to be able to respond, social barriers like stigma and discrimination, as well as because healthcare system is at times a site of violence itself," said Fadekemi Akinfaderin, Chief Global Advocacy Officer, Fos Feminista (International Alliance for Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice).

"I tend to think myself as a privileged person - an educated and middle-class woman - but when I had both my kids, I was denied access to epidural (epidural is a type of regional anaesthesia which is often given during labour and delivery to relieve pain). I was denied epidural in a health centre because the healthcare worker wanted me to give birth like a Hebrew woman," said Fedekemi.

"These are not isolated issues rather these are symptoms of a global system that continues to devalue the lives and health of women and girls. The newly released World Report on the Social Determinants of Health Equity confirms that gender discrimination blocks access to healthcare even when user fees are removed. Women especially those who are young poor migrants or from ethnic minorities, still avoid care because of abuse and mistreatment," shared Nazneen Damji.

UHC is fundamental to reducing health inequalities

“We are seeing a global push back against gender equality and the principles of human rights to health which are inextricably linked. In my mandate as a UN Special Rapporteur on Right To Health, I have recommended a human rights approach for many of the thematic areas recalling the political declaration of the UN High Level Meeting and resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly 2019 on Universal Health Coverage under the theme “Universal health coverage moving together to build a healthier world.” I stress and underscore that universal health coverage is fundamental to reducing health inequalities, and ensuring just, peaceful and inclusive societies,” said Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng, United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on Right To Health and Executive Director, Centre for Global Health Policy & Politics.

Dr Tlaleng added: "The world is experiencing protracted war, humanitarian crisis, economic crisis, climate crisis, genocide, all of which had an impact on the right to health. Inequality, violence, stigmatisation, discrimination and criminalisation, all are incompatible with the realisation of the right to health and therefore impact universal health coverage. Delivering on UHC in an era of push back against gender equality and human rights must consider that every human being is entitled - with no discrimination - to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health, and also a life conducive to living of dignity."

Women's rights groups are often the first responders delivering lifesaving services

"We must recognise the vital role of women's rights groups which are often the first responders delivering life-saving health care protection services and psychosocial support to survivors of violence. Yet their ability to serve those most at risk, especially women and girls facing intersectional discrimination, is becoming severely hampered by shrinking funding and growing backlash," said Nazneen Damji.

Despite challenges, progress towards gender justice gives us hope and strength

Governments committed to a political declaration at the recently concluded 69th UN Session of the Commission on the Status of Women. "This political declaration is reaffirming governments' commitment to the Beijing Platform for Action. This is a powerful reminder that women's health remains a key priority on the global agenda. It is a moment of renewed momentum and we must seize it," said Nazneen Damji of UN Women.

She added: "Over the past two decades, we have seen real gains, for example:

- The number of women using modern contraception has doubled

- Unintended pregnancy rate has declined by 19%

These are victories worth protecting but to sustain this progress we must invest in and scale up the best practices that got us here. We must ensure that UHC is not just about coverage, it must be about equity, rights, and justice - that means guaranteeing access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services including contraception, safe abortion, maternal care and HIV prevention."

But, how can we protect these gains made towards gender equality and rights, and advance progress without increased domestic financing for health systems? We need to ensure that women's health services are integral to health benefit packages, and are protected and full funded. Organisations and movements that defend women's rights by putting women and girls at the centre of health policy - and not as passive recipients but as leaders and decision makers - must also be protected and fully resourced.

"The Beijing Platform for Action 1995 gave us a roadmap. Now, 30 years later, it is time to deliver because health for all, must mean rights for all," rightly says Nazneen Damji.

Shobha Shukla – CNS (Citizen News Service)

(Shobha Shukla is the award-winning founding Managing Editor and Executive Director of CNS (Citizen News Service) and is a feminist, health and development justice advocate. She is a former senior Physics faculty of prestigious Loreto Convent College and current Coordinator of Asia Pacific Regional Media Alliance for Health and Development (APCAT Media) and Chairperson of Global AMR Media Alliance (GAMA received AMR One Health Emerging Leaders and Outstanding Talents Award 2024). She also coordinates SHE & Rights initiative (Sexual health with equity & rights). Follow her on Twitter @shobha1shukla or read her writings here www.bit.ly/ShobhaShukla)