International Women's Day: Top 6 health issues every woman must know!

Zee Media Bureau/Salome Phelamei

Women, as we know, have come a long way. Today, she’s independent, capable and liberated, claiming more power and freedom proving her potential again and again.

It is time to celebrate women and their achievements even as gender equality remains to be a global issue. And yes, the theme for International Women’s Day 2016 is “Planet 50-50 by 2030: Step It Up for Gender Equality.

While we celebrate the womanhood, it is also important to understand the problems that women face today. And health is one of the biggest issues that women across the world are facing.

Here are five major health issues affecting women and that need to be tackled:

1. Cancer:

Cancer affects women more than men, with two of the most common ones being breast and cervical cancers. It is said that each year around half a million women die from cervical cancer and half a million from breast cancer.

2. Mental health:

Studies suggest that women are more prone than men to experience depression and anxiety, due to biological differences. While depression is the most common mental health problem for women, suicide is a leading cause of death for women aged between 20 to 59 years worldwide.

3. Cardiovascular disease:

Worldwide, heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in women. According to the NHS, women are three times more likely to die of heart disease than breast cancer.

Scientists revealed that heart attacks in women may have different symptoms and causes with some risk factors even more dangerous than in men.

4. Reproductive health:

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), sexual and reproductive health problems are responsible for one third of health issues for women between the ages of 15 and 44 years. It said that unsafe sex is a major risk factor, particularly among women and girls in developing countries.

5. Maternal health:

While progress has been made, almost 300, 000 women died from complications in pregnancy and childbirth, according to the latest statistics WHO from 2013. And most of these deaths could have been prevented if the women had access to family planning and basic services.

6. HIV/AIDS:

According to the WHO, HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for women aged between 15 to 44-years-old. It said that too many young women still struggle to protect themselves against sexual transmission of HIV and to get the treatment they require.