Women’s Health Needs

The 2006 BSR Report, Women’s General & Reproductive Health in Global Supply Chains (PDF, 3.2 MB), found the following primary health challenges were facing female workers

• Reproductive Health Services
  Access to safe, effective, affordable and acceptable methods of family planning of their choice, and access to appropriate health-care services that let them go through pregnancy and childbirth safely. Read about Family Planning Choices (PDF, 1.1 MB)
• STD Awareness and Prevention
  Including HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis B & C. Proactive dissemination of information, through formal training, peer counseling and educational materials, to them about risks and ways to preventing infection. Read about the role of contraception in preventing HIV
• Nutrition
  Distribution of quality meals that contain nourishing ingredients that enable growth, metabolism and repair. Read about the cost of malnutrition in India
• Illness and Infection Prevention and Treatment
  Common illnesses contracted by female factory workers include: upper respiratory tract infections, headache, fatigue, diarrhea, dysmenorrheal, and breast and cervical cancers. Read about the business impacts of growing rates of TB infection.
• Worker Education
  Communication with workers through counselors, HR personnel, health care providers, labor unions and factory line supervisors to raise awareness on health issues and available services