POSTPONED (Originally April 14, 2020)
Dr. Larry D Kieft
Women’s Health in the Developing World: Challenges and Opportunities
Margaret Chen, former Head of the World Health Organization, said “The obstacles that stand in the way of better health for women are not primarily technical or medical in nature but rather social and political.” Women face challenges to their health from both biologic and social etiologies. Biological determinates of health are related to sex (XX chromosomes) and social determinates are related to gender (social norms). Both of these make challenges to women’s health unique from those of men and justify addressing them as a separate entity.
The differences in women’s health based on geography is stunning. Infectious disease plays an important role in the developing world but differences in maternal mortality, infant mortality, cancer survival, and sexually transmitted diseases is measured in many multiples of the rates for women in the developed world. These realities create many challenges to better health for many women throughout the world.
Although statistics may lead to despair, there have been many advances toward better health for women worldwide. Developing creative new approaches to these challenges has improved the health of women in the developing world and created opportunities for a better future. The challenge remains for us. “Women are not dying because of diseases we cannot treat. They are dying because societies have yet to make the decision that their lives are worth saving.” -Mahmoud Fathalla
Speaker Bio:
Larry D Kieft is a graduate of the University of Michigan Medical School and completed a residency in Obstetrics and Gynecology in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He has a Master of Public Health degree from the Colorado School of Public Health in Global Health and Health Disparities. He has lived and practiced medicine in Fort Collins, Colorado, since 1978. He helped establish the Poudre Valley Prenatal Program for underserved women in 1989 and served as its clinical director for 21 years. He served as a board member for the Colorado Coalition for the Medically Underserved from its inception until 2014 working to have all Coloradans gain access to health care. He has served in several countries in Africa as a volunteer teaching women’s health, the last 15 times at Tenwek Hospital, Bomet, Kenya.
April Guest Tap: TBD!
How This Works
The Buffalo Rose will open at 6:00 p.m. Food and drink service will begin at 6:00 p.m. and the program will begin around 6:30 p.m. Following the presentation, we’ll take a brief intermission for Q + A. We’ll wrap up around 7:45 p.m., but people interested in staying a bit longer to socialize will be able to do so. There is no cover charge and no purchase is necessary.