WHA79 Under Pressure As Activists Demand Gender Equality, Health Rights Action
As global health leaders prepare for the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79) in Geneva, activists and gender justice advocates are warning that progress towards universal healthcare could stall unless governments confront growing anti-rights and anti-gender movements threatening global health gains.
The high-level gathering, organised by the World Health Organization, will hold from May 18 to 23, 2026, bringing together health ministers from 194 countries to deliberate on critical global health issues.
However, campaigners insist that discussions around healthcare must go beyond policy rhetoric and tackle gender inequality head-on.
Speaking ahead of the assembly, Shobha Shukla, Coordinator of SHE & Rights, stressed that gender equality and the right to health are inseparable goals.
She warned that governments cannot genuinely pursue “Health for All” while tolerating policies and narratives that undermine women’s rights and bodily autonomy.
At the recently concluded Women Deliver Conference 2026, activists from across Africa and the Asia-Pacific region raised concerns over shrinking reproductive rights, discrimination against older persons, and increasing attacks on gender-diverse communities.
The conference also spotlighted ageism as a growing but often ignored global challenge.
Advocates argued that older women continue to face discrimination in healthcare, workplaces, and society, despite their contributions to national development.
Indonesian health official Dr Imran Pambudi revealed that violence against women remains widespread, with over 330,000 women reportedly affected in Indonesia in 2024 alone.
He emphasised that protecting women’s rights must remain central to healthcare reforms.
Meanwhile, reproductive rights advocates condemned restrictive abortion laws in countries such as the Philippines, describing them as dangerous policies that force women into unsafe medical procedures.
Campaigners argued that criminalising abortion does not stop it but instead drives it underground, putting lives at risk.
The SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026, held during the conference, received 351 applications from 29 countries, with 18 journalists honoured for impactful reporting on gender justice and health rights issues across Africa and the Asia-Pacific.
Observers say WHA79 now faces mounting expectations to move beyond declarations and deliver concrete commitments that protect human rights, gender equality, and universal access to healthcare.
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