Getting involved with the Austrian Doctors was probably in my blood. I remember the day I first found the many photos from the mission countries in my grandfather’s office at my grandparents’ house, Dr. Werner Waldmann. From that moment on, he would repeatedly tell stories about children, families, and their fates. Unlike the girls in the photos, it was never an option for me in Austria not to go to school as a child. My education was the foundation on which I could build my medical studies, and it is why I can now – among other things, together with the Austrian Doctors – advocate strongly for women’s health.
Almost half of the world’s population are women. Women do live longer, but they spend fewer years in good health. Women are significantly more affected by socioeconomic health factors, particularly poverty, than men. For this reason, the Austrian Doctors’ educational projects, which support girls and boys equally, not only make a difference for their future careers but are also, in a broader sense, an important aspect of disease prevention for girls and adolescent women.
Women worldwide have the right to respectful and proper treatment of their illnesses. However, women’s health risks, health behaviors, and disease courses differ from those of men. Therefore, when we think about women’s health in countries of the Global South, we should not only consider the need for well-trained midwives and gynecologists. We should also recognize the necessity of training healthcare personnel from other disciplines beyond gynecology, and this, too, is achieved through education.
Therefore, as a gynecologist, as a woman, and as a mother of a daughter, our school projects and scholarship programs are just as close to my heart as the medical projects and the workshops on family planning and sexual health at the community center in Awasi. Only increasing education for all children, regardless of gender, can bring long-term change. I am therefore pleased that our school projects in Kenya, India, and Bangladesh, with their educational content and support for girls, represent a small piece of the larger goal of improving women’s health.
Your Dr.in Pia Nigisch
Secretary of the Austrian Doctors
