Women have historically faced higher exposure to Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) risk factors, reflecting disparities and inequality in the burden of diseases. An estimated 35 million people die each year of which 18 million are women. In the case of one of such diseases, hypertension, its management and control differ based on gender due to differences in prevalence and social determinants. Given the amount of people impacted by hypertension, the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI) works in Bangladesh, India and Kano State, Nigeria to provide support to government and local civil society organizations (CSOs) to strengthen health systems and increase resources towards hypertension treatment and control.
Globally, prevalence rates have been on an upward trend. The number of people aged 30–79 years with hypertension doubled from 1990 to 2019, from 331 million women and 317 million men in 1990 to 626 million women and 652 million men in 2019. Furthermore, there have historically been disparities in the prevalence of hypertension across genders and different age groups. There are a multitude of contributing factors for the disparities when it comes to women and specific age groups. Factors such as age, education, and social and cultural norms lead to women’s hesitation to travel alone for care. Lack of follow-up is exacerbated by economic constraints to travel long distances and lack of transportation in remote areas. A similar drawback is their dependence on male family members to seek treatment. Barriers may also include de-prioritization of women’s health over men’s and lack of autonomy among women in making health-related decisions.
Women from lower-income groups, particularly in rural areas, often lack awareness about hypertension and its long-term risks, leading to undiagnosed or poorly managed conditions. In some cases, women in urban areas can afford a wider option of foods, some of which are not healthy. They tend to be less physically active, which contributes to more cases of hypertension in cities. Cultural stigmas and misconceptions also abound and, as a result, people, particularly women, may rely on traditional, home-based remedies.
Therefore, it’s important to tackle hypertension through a gender lens to address health disparities and to ensure the provision of quality gender-specific interventions and care for women to improve hypertension prevention, treatment and management. GHAI is supporting advocacy efforts to integrate hypertension care at the primary care level with maternal care to improve awareness and enable women to seek more timely and consistent treatment. We are also working with the governments and CSOs in Bangladesh, India, and Kano State in Nigeria on robust grassroots political, media, and patient advocacy campaigns utilizing health workers, media, community leaders, and government officials to: 1) ensure that hypertension is prioritized in each country’s health agenda and backed with adequate domestic resources, 2) build the capacities of health systems to provide care and treatment, and 3) to address misconceptions and make women more inclined to prevent and manage hypertension through lifestyle choices, timely seeking out care, and adhering to treatment once diagnosed.
