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The Value of Women’s Health for Countries and Communities
As an AstraZeneca Global Breast Cancer Care Council Member, I was privileged to share the Concordia Summit Main Stage with Her Excellency Eliza Jean Reid, First Lady of Iceland, for a critical fireside conversation on the undeniable link between women’s health and the vitality of economies and societies in addressing the impact of breast cancer and the continuum of cancer care, during the United Nations General Assembly High-level Week 2024.
Shira Gerver, Vice President, Global Head of Oncology Corporate Affairs at AstraZeneca’s opening keynote highlighted recent WHO data that breast cancer claims over 670,000 lives annually and is the #1 or #2 cause of female cancer deaths in 95% of the world. It is also the number one cancer among women of working age – which has a significant impact on economic prosperity and communities. Without healthy women as the cornerstone, societies fail, yet policymakers around the world do not prioritise breast cancer relative to its impact on populations.
Together, H.E. Reid and I explored how to elevate breast cancer as a global policy priority and identify impactful, tangible steps to catalyse change at the global, national and local levels, to advance economic growth, gender equality and ensure the sustainability of our health systems. Sharing direct insights, H.E. Reid raised broader awareness of the foundational importance of women’s health and breast cancer, and how governments can bridge the gap to improve health systems strengthening for all, as we built broad-based support and understanding of the impact better breast cancer policy has on constituents, communities and countries.
As a Concordia Leadership Council Member, I am delighted that Concordia develops spaces to foster meaningful dialogue, spark collaboration, and inspire collective action by way of diverse, innovative, and action-oriented programming and conversations, as closing the global gender workforce gap could add as much as $28 trillion to the global GDP by 2025.
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