Transforming women’s health – from research to policy and treatment – remains one of the biggest challenges today. How far have we really come – and what’s next? Our Deputy Chair, Bleddyn Rees, shares his insights on the progress so far and the road ahead for a global impact.

Health systems are rife with inequality and discrimination in the services they provide. I was already aware of these problems when comparing physical and mental health, or children’s and adult services. 

But I only became aware of the discrimination in women’s health when a friend I was on holiday with, just after the first COVID lockdown was lifted, fell unwell with severe menopause side effects. She challenged me to do something about it.

I had never worked in women’s health before, so had no real knowledge, but agreed to investigate the subject. I was quickly embarrassed to discover the scale of the discrimination not only in treatment but also in research. 

Seeing the Scale, Taking Action

My enquiries led me to the force of nature that is Carolyn Harris MP, the Welsh campaigning Member of the UK Parliament. She was the Co-Chair of the Menopause Taskforce at Westminster and held a series of meetings with various experts providing evidence on this serious topic. 

I started reading the minutes of these meetings and realised that, as the Global Health Connector, we should try to help in whatever way we could. 

I then began looking for connections to individuals and organisations with expertise and interest in women’s health.

Driving Change for Women’s Health at UNGA

In September 2023, we held our first two-day event at the United Nations General Assembly Science Summit, which included a number of panels on women’s health. We were fortunate enough to meet some very talented experts in the field including Dr Irene Aninye, the Chief Scientist of the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR). This meeting has led to a valuable collaboration to continue our focus on women’s health at the Science Summit in 2024 and 2025.

In 2024, we had panels on:

• A Call to Action: Women’s Unique Health Needs and SDGs, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
• Transitioning Women’s Health from Treatment to Prevention
• Ensuring Accountability: Women in Research, Health Care, and Policy Leadership
• Perspectives from Women’s Leaders in Women’s Health

Highlights for me included a keynote from Mala Adiga, JD, MPH – Deputy Assistant to the President and Policy Director to the First Lady Dr Jill Biden at the United States White House – who announced a $100 million investment in women’s health research through the Spirit for Women’s Health programme. 

Another memorable moment was Carolyn Harris’s powerful sharing of her personal menopause story, which moved many in the audience to tears.

In 2025, I am proud that we have a full-day programme at the Science Summit dedicated to women’s health, in partnership with SWHR. The power of campaigning should never be underestimated, as a number of prominent women, along with Carolyn Harris have demonstrated for menopause, including Davina McCall, Mariella Fostrup and Penny Lancaster. 

Promoting these issues, challenges and making recommendations is vital. We continue this work through our global flagship events, such as HLTH and ViVE.

Looking ahead

There is still much more work to be done on women’s health, as illustrated by two key facts:

• There is very little research into the different effects some diseases have on women, compared to the better-known effects on men.There is a clear need for precision treatments designed specifically for women, rather than relying on the treatments developed for men.
• Women are usually the primary health care coordinators for their families,  so when they are unwell the impact on the whole family is significant – yet this is little researched or understood.

Improving women’s health is not only a women’s issue. Men have an important role to play too. After all, we all have mothers, many of us have wives or partners, and some have daughters and granddaughters. Men are invested in women’s health, and it is time they did more to advance it.

It is high time to act, and I am glad that through our Global Health Connector we can spark the right collaborations, connect the dots, and make real change happen.