Health systems around the world—no matter how advanced—are failing women. Inequalities, such as level of education, income, ethnicity, availability of and access to health systems, as well as poor alignment across health systems often leave women unable to receive the care they need. COVID-19 has highlighted the disparity and it is time to set a new, fundamentally reconsidered agenda that will provide better patient outcomes for our mothers, daughters and sisters.

But, how can we achieve this? Hard questions have to be addressed and answered. What does good look like? Why are women not receiving the same care-levels as men? How do we make meaningful lasting change? How can we empower women to take their own healthcare decisions?

With issues of this magnitude, the beginning of the solution will be found in listening. We are engaging with some remarkable woman to start the discussion on these hard questions. With our ‘Voices for Women’s Health: Daring to address challenges in Women’s Health’ podcast series we look forward to learning, considering and forming opinions on how to improve healthcare for women.

New episodes will be added regularly below - so please consider subscribing via your preferred player!

Life after cancer comes with a new set of challenges. Fertility shouldn't be one of them. Yet, sadly female cancer survivors don’t always get the timely access to counseling and treatment that’s needed.

Oncologist Dr Matteo Lambertini, Assistant professor - University of Genova and Consultant in Medical Oncology believes it’s important to empower female patients, as well as improve the networks between oncologists and fertility experts.

Listen now as he talks to Maura Dickler, Vice President and Global Head, Product Development Oncology, Breast and Gynecologic Cancers about tangible efforts to remove these barriers - and why it all begins with clinical trials.

Receiving the news that you have cancer is beyond compare. But in addition to the shock of the news, comes the challenge of navigating the journey ahead. Imagine not knowing whom to go to for information or only realising when it’s too late that there are steps one should have taken before starting chemotherapy or any other treatment.

For Indyra Oropeza Aguila , the journey started with the strong support of her doctors. But she soon realised that not everyone has the same access to information and healthcare. To help navigate through the challenge, She started a blog to share her experience, became a patient advocate, authored a memoir, founded a non-profit organisation and is currently driving support to implement the recently signed National Cancer Law in Peru which will seek to provide all oncology patients in Peru with access to dignified and high quality of health care.

Indyra believes that information is power. Listen to our latest podcast episode as Indyra shares her inspiring story about making a change.

How do we improve the health of women across Africa? Global health expert Mah Sere-Keita discusses this challenge in our latest episode.

Unfortunately, in Africa today, women are still at the bottom of the healthcare systems, often neglecting their own health in favor of that of their families. For Mah Sere-Keita, Director of Programs at African Society for Laboratory Medicine (ASLM), the answer lies in encouraging young women to enter the field of public health.

Dr Robert Winn, Director, VCU Massey Cancer Center is here with us to talk about ZNA - a combination of ZIP code + DNA. Dr. Winn is at the forefront of addressing health disparities, promoting health equity, and advocating for diversity and inclusion in healthcare.

Listen now as Stephanie Sassman , talks to Dr Robert Winn about how the location of residence impacts your health and especially, how women are affected by these factors.

Dr. Winn also shares his thoughts on how the pandemic has disproportionately impacted women's health and the steps we need to get back on track.

In this episode, we talk to Dr Stacey Rosen, Senior Vice President, Women's Health at the Katz Institute for Women’s Health, Northwell Health which focuses on the elimination of health care disparities through comprehensive clinical programs, gender-based research, community partnerships and education.

Listen now, as Teresa Graham , Head at Global Product Strategy, Roche Pharmaceuticals talks to Dr Rosen about the lack of representation of women in health research and the implications it has on society.

Dr Rosen also shares her thoughts and plans on empowering the female patient to be a better advocate for herself.

Dr Dsane-Selby has helped millions of people access previously unaffordable healthcare in Ghana. She believes that women are central to their families’ health and to business.

Listen now as Teresa Graham talks to Dr Dsane-Selby about women’s health and the changes that she believes are needed from industry and policymakers to fundamentally improve treatment outcomes for women in Ghana and beyond.