On Saturday October 24, the Conference centre of Expo Milano 2015 hosted a conference promoted by Onda, theNational Observatory on Women’s Health, with the presentation of the first Manifesto on Women’s Health. Among the attendees: Francesca Merzagora, President of Onda, the General Commissioner of the section for the Italy Pavilion,Diana Bracco, the President of the Higher Institute of Health, Walter Ricciardi, Claudio Mencacci, President of theItalian Society of Psychiatry, Rossella Nappi, Associated professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia and Adriana Albini, Scientific Director of Fondazione Multi Medica Onlus and President of the Onda Scientific Committee.
A concrete commitment that will last after Expo Milano 2015
During the conference promoted by the National Observatory on Women’s Health on the Civil Society Day, experts discussed the evolution of research and the network of psychiatric services aimed at supporting women who suffer from depression, thus describing the ongoing efforts and the future projects involving the association also after the end of the Universal Exposition in Milan. “I think it is a wonderful thing that Onda decided to present their Manifesto at Expo Milano 2015” said Diana Bracco in her introduction, “because it strongly contributes to the contents of the Expo: for the first time ever, women are major protagonists here.”
A Manifesto for all Italian women
The 12 items in the Manifesto on Women’s Health represent the commitment by Onda, the institutions, the scientific society, the patients’ associations and the civil society for the three years from 2016 to 2018 as regards the protection of women’s health in all age ranges. The main themes include: improvement in the quality and accessibility of hospital services; safety in childbirth units and treatment of cardiovascular diseases; fight against depression, tumours and obesity; prevention of cognitive decay; protection of elderly women and activation of a pink code in ERs for the victims of any violence. Commenting on the items in the Manifesto, Francesca Merzagora stated that “in Italy 10% of childbirths occur in unsafe places. Only 16% of young girls have protected sexual intercourses. Women’s mortality due to cardiovascular diseases is higher than that due to cancer. Depression hits women to an extent which is double compared to that of men, about 2.5 million just in Italy.” This is the reason for the drawing up of the Manifesto on Women’s Health: a concrete help to elderly people, who are fragile and must be protected.
