Raising your voice for what you believe is justified.
Competition for having our voices heard is increasingly difficult and becoming a crowded field. But is this a terrible thing? People are standing up for what they believe and taking action on those beliefs. Action varies in focus, strength, and size, but all have the general theme of making the world a better place than it currently is. And my stand is Health Equity for Women.
Health Equity is providing and ensuring that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be healthier. This includes the US and all around the world. On this US Election Day 2018, we have a commitment to raise our voices for what we believe, including equity in healthcare.
I am not one to be political, and will not make my affiliations known, but most of us must agree, that a healthier and more equitable world would benefit everyone. Improvements in technology provide jobs and create healthier people who can further be more productive members of society for a longer duration. Improvements around the world in healthcare allows women to send their children to school and creates job opportunities that lifts families out of poverty. Connecting our worlds, our hopes, and our progress improves all our lives by creating access to opportunities.
So how do we raise our voices for Health Equity? We vote, we lobby, we serve, we act, we do, and we model our actions. Being the voice for those who are unable to speak allows us to take action and help those who need it. We act by joining organizations and boards of organizations that support health equity. We model the thoughts and behaviors we want to the world to look like to the children in our lives so that they see the brightness of the future and what it should look like.
Raising our voices for the things we believe in is not new nor do I expect it to stop. Women have advocated for ourselves, our families, and our beliefs since the creation of time and it’s in our DNA. Wanting better is a human characteristic that sets us apart from other mammals. It is also the basis of evolution. As we continue to raise our voices for what we believe, we continue to differentiate ourselves and create the change that we feel is necessary in this world.
The importance of equitable access to healthcare has been cited as crucial to achieving many of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) set out by the United Nations. We need to raise our voices, both women and men, to ensure that Health Equity especially for women is created within the next decade before another generation must continue to live with health inequities. We are about to send people to Mars…. Why can’t every person have access to the care they need to live a healthy life?
