US Ambassador to Hungary, Brinker, Charges World Leaders to Prioritise Women’s Health

Rebecca Ejifoma

The Ambassador of US to Hungary, Nancy Brinker, has called on world leaders to empower the voices and the experiences of women to generate change while ensuring that women’s health is prioritised on a global scale.
She said this at the Global Business hybrid briefing tagged, “The Future of Women’s Health and Gender Equity” and powered by Meridian International Centre.
Meridian International Centre has continued to strengthen relationships across the world through leadership, training, art and culture, and collaboration on world’s most pressing issues. To address the future of women’s health in line with its theme, it brought together ambassadors of different countries.
“I’ve seen with my own eyes how women who get wealthy can earn for their families, and participate in their community and make societies better.
“We’ve also seen how conflicts pandemic and other events can disrupt progress. It still boggles my mind that something so foundational to successful country and economies around the world is not considered in policy making as it should be,” Brinker expressed.
According to the Leader of Global Breast Cancer Movement and Founder of the Largest Breast Cancer Foundation, it took years of persistent awareness and step-by-step change to get to where they are today.
She further admitted that they’ve come a long way thanks to the work of so many especially in medical scientific grounds.
While acknowledging that they still have far to go, the ambassador classified cancer as deeply personal even as a cancer survivor.
During her time as ambassador of Hungary, she claimed that breast cancer was the leading cause of death among Hungarian women, adding that she saw the same stigma among cancer and women health from those 40 years old in America.
To address this trend, Brinker’s foundation started a campaign, Reach of Health Alliance, in 2002. They created facilities and spread information about breast cancer to Hungarian women who didn’t feel comfortable talking about it.
While hailing women across the globe as backbone of society, Brinker called on world leaders. “As world leaders look to address the issue at hand, we must remember not to underestimate the importance of partnering with private sector.
According to the cancer survivor, private sector brings resources, innovation and awareness. “More of us need to speak out and take action together.
In her view, while ambassadors play a vital role in bringing people and organisations into the conversation to focus on the policy, women’s health should occupy the same position as climate change.
Speaking also, the first female Nigeria Ambassador to US Her Excellency, Dr. Uzoma Emenike, highlighted the significance of having equal access to education. “Our health must be looked at differently from men’s health.”
She further harped on the need to work on gender equality. While admitting that Nigeria has oil, she listed women’s health and gender equity as pressing issues.
“I’m talking about women who go to the farm, women who have small stores, who engage in the market places and the likes. You have them mostly in third world countries like Nigeria,” Emenike clarified.
In her charge, she called for more sensitisation and educating the women to take care of themselves.
She said this with the knowledge that Nigeria has some health facilities with equipment, however lamented that not many of these women are able to access it.