04 Aug Global policies have begun to shift towards gender equality, but we still have a long way to go.

Understanding health is a human right begins by states, countries and local governments to provide accessible, timely and quality health care that is affordable.  According to Borges et al. 2018): Providing health care for the underlying factors of health such as clean and safe drinking water, sanitation, housing, nutrition (food) and educating the people regarding appropriate safeguards to prevent and protect themselves from disease, is a responsibility of the governments of the people.  All governing oversight has the duty of protecting its citizens by providing the most basic of services such as education and healthcare. 

“Zika virus has been linked to pregnancy loss, intrauterine growth restriction, eye defects, congenital microcephaly, and brain abnormalities” (Theall et al. 2017).  Low-income countries have limited if any accessibility to women’s health services such as birth control and abortion services. Advance medical centers that focus on children services are virtually nonexistent in many of these areas and families do not have the financial means to travel to access these services. Public health officials have changed direction and aimed the focus of policies on vector control, repellant, insecticide use and avoidance of sexual transmission by condom use and what to do if a woman may become pregnant if exposed. Globally the health threat of Zika does not merit women’s reproductive rights to be limited.  Women’s health has always taken a back seat when it comes to policy creation or implementation, Zika is simply one more reason public health officials need to prioritize women’s rights and women’s health.  “These failures are exacerbated by the potentially severe consequences of Zika-infected pregnancies, leaving women, infants, and families vulnerable to long-term health, medical, and economic hardships (Theall et al. 2017).  A woman and her family should be afforded the basic human right of choice. Though different cultures have varying views on such topics, the overwhelming fact is that carrying a fetus to full term that may have life threatening abnormalities or long-term effects that are unable to be managed due to different types of hardships should remain a personal private decision, as does the choice of pregnancy prevention. Global policies have begun to shift towards gender equality, but we still have a long way to go.