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Rights of the Child.

on a detailed and extensive review of the evidence,

guidance from the governing bodies, feedback

2. The Strategy is equity driven, recognising

from technical experts, results of an online

that women are not a homogenous group.

consultation with Member States, face-to-face

This means that consideration must be given

consultations in countries and feedback from WHO

to how gender intersects with other axes of

regions for health and healthy cities networks.

social inequalities, such as ethnicity and place

of residence, and the unequal distribution of

The Strategy is underpinned by the values of

social determinants of health such as income,

the European policy framework for health and

education and employment.

well-being, Health 2020, which clearly recognises

3. The gender-responsive focus of the

gender as a determinant of health, alongside

Strategy reflects the need to adopt whole-

social and environmental determinants,

of-government policies promoting gender

and which identifies gender inequality as an

equality and health policies that consider

important issues and gender mainstreaming as

gender norms, values and inequalities, along

a key mechanism to achieve gender equity. The

with measures taken to actively reduce their

Strategy identifies four priority areas for action in

harmful effects.

line with Health 2020, and provides guidance to

optimize investment in girls’ and women’s health,

4. The life-course approach to women’s health

including by refining existing national policies

used within the Strategy is useful in that

and strategies to make them more consistent with

it recognises that sex and gender combine

current evidence and more responsive to women’s

with social and environmental determinants

health and well-being across the life-course.

of health to influence how health risks and

benefits accumulate through life. It not only

The mission of the Strategy is to ‘inspire governments and stakeholders to work towards improving the health and well-being of women and girls beyond maternal and child health, ensuring that policies and health systems are genderresponsive and based on a life-course approach.’

recognizes that women’s health is important

for ensuring a better start in life for their

children and providing care for their families,

but seeks to achieve better health for girls and

women in their own right, regardless of their