Boosting the number of women in healthcare leadership roles, the heavy burdens placed on nurses – predominantly women – during the pandemic, and the empowerment of women in the UAE since the country’s birth 50 years ago, were among a slate of key themes during Expo 2020 Dubai’s Health and Wellness Week as it entered its fifth day on Monday (31 January).
“A woman is half of society. Any country that hopes to develop can’t leave women behind, can’t leave them uneducated… those principles of respecting women, and [acknowledging] that she has an important role in society, are already there,” Her Excellency Dr Hawaa Al Thahak Al Mansoori, Member of the Federal National Council, Emirati physician, inventor and politician, said in her keynote speech at a panel event on Arab and Muslim women in healthcare at Expo’s Women’s Pavilion last Friday (28 January).
HE continued: “The UAE’s story over the last 50 years is a story of female empowerment – truly and honestly, this is the story of women empowerment. And it happened side by side, shoulder to shoulder, with the men of this country – our brothers, our sons, our fathers.”
‘Women in Arabia and Islam | Charting the Course of Pioneer Arab and Muslim Women in Health, Past to Present’ also featured Dr Hanan Kholoussy, Associate Professor of History, American University in Cairo, who explained the dominant healthcare role played by women throughout the centuries.
Health and Wellness Week, held at Expo 2020 in association with Mohammed bin Rashid University of Medicine and Health Sciences (MBRU), and the World Health Organization (WHO), is exploring the relationship between mental and physical wellness, alongside the role of quality access to healthcare and tech in reaching the last mile and building healthy societies.
Across the Theme Week, the Women’s Pavilion, which is a collaboration with Cartier, is exploring these themes through a gender lens, addressing the role of women in creating a cleaner, safer, healthier world, while highlighting real-life stories of women who have led the way throughout history.
‘Women’s World Majlis | Women on the Frontline or In the Line of Fire?’ on Monday (31 January) also discussed the implicit and explicit challenges faced by women health workers globally.
Panellist Dr Micaela Serafini, Head of Health in the International Committee of the Red Cross, Switzerland, said: “Seventy per cent of the health workforce today are women. Taking into account that very big number, we also see that 25 per cent of those are in managerial and decision-making positions – it’s huge… if we have to conclude something about those numbers, it’s that women are delivering health, but in terms of numbers it seems that male colleagues are the ones deciding on what we deliver.”
Serafini, who joined proceedings virtually, noted the bulk of care provided to COVID-19 patients has been given by nurses, the majority of whom are women.
She explained: “The idea at some point of prioritising patients because there was not enough oxygen or ventilators has been extremely tough. Most of these dilemmas were difficult to solve because we were in the middle of an emergency with very little resources… If we assume that 70 per cent of healthcare is provided by women, we can assume that there has been a big overload [on them] when it comes to patient care, [particularly] COVID-19 care.
“We are going to have a gap in 2030 of 10 million healthcare workers, especially in low and middle income countries. There is a lot of people that will be missing, so how do we make policies attractive for people to get into healthcare, and how do we retain women to stay there in a very safe environment to work in?”
Joining Serafini, alongside panel moderator Hind Alowais, Senior Vice President, International Participants Management at Expo 2020 Dubai, was Her Excellency Peggy Vidot, Minister of Health, Seychelles, who touched on healthcare leadership positions for future generations of women.
She said: “Preparations for leadership need to start very early on, and all organisations should really take this on-board and look at people with potential… sometimes the issue of not many women in leadership positions is because there has not been sufficient exposure, they’ve not heard of opportunities, or they’ve not been able to be pushed forward by their peers and colleagues to take on leadership positions.
“I’d like to see a lot more policy that addresses this issue of developing people to take on leadership positions. And mentor and nurture them, so they will be ready when the time comes to assume these positions. It’s important to have policies to address all of that.”
Health and Wellness Week is one of 10 Theme Weeks held under Expo 2020’s Programme for People and Planet, offering an exchange of inspiring new perspectives to address the greatest challenges and opportunities of our time.