Women’s Health Conference Coming In May

PORTIA NKANI

Three local companies have come together to organise Women’s health conference which is expected to be held from 17th-18th May this year in Gaborone, as part of their flag ship project, The Botswana Gazette has learnt.
The conference is being organized by a tripartite relation between Power Kris-a company that specialises in the recruitment of healthcare professionals; 3 Mothers-a company that provides antenatal education and Ancora Women’s Clinic together with Dr Doreen Ramogola Masire.
In an interview with this publication, the organisers explained that, the idea to organize this conference was spurred by the growing incidences of conditions that affect women like cervical, breast, ovarian cancers and many other illnesses.
One of the organisers, Veronica Mapii who worked as a midwife for over 20 years said “We realised that there was a gap in information between the public and the health care professionals. The objectives of the conference are to create a platform where we can engage, share best practices, perspectives, trends and advocate for better care.”
The event which is intended to be held bi annually will this year kickstart under the theme: ‘Innovative Approaches in Women’s Health, Empowering Health Care Professionals.’
The conference targets health-care professionals from specialists, medical officers, nurses, allied health professionals, private sector, residents, NGOS and students in the medical field.
Amongst the issues to be covered at the conference are Violence Against Women and Girls, Women’s Cancers, Hypertensive Disorders in Pregnancy, Women and Heart Diseases, Infertility, Technology in relation to addressing women’s health.
Mapii added that they have been able to get speakers from outside Botswana who are specialists in their respective areas and as the organizing committee they are still negotiating to secure sponsors.
She is hopeful that this conference will create an opportunity for better transmission of new knowledge between the healthcare sector and the public. “It will also sensitize the policy makers in terms of ensuring that policies evolve with emerging health needs,” she adds.
The UNFPA’s State of World Population Report published in October 2017 shows how economic inequality reinforces and is reinforced by inequalities in sexual and reproductive health.
The report shows that within most developing countries, women in the poorest 20 percent of the population have for example, the least access to sexual and reproductive health services, including contraception while women at the top of the wealth scale generally have access to a full range of high quality services.
The unmet demand for family planning in developing countries is generally greatest among women at the bottom of the wealth scale.
With this conference, such challenges are expected to be discussed.