On International Women's Day, which falls today, WHO is calling for intensified action in the South-East Asia Region and across the world to ensure that every woman and girl, everywhere has timely and equitable access to digital innovations and technologies that can protect, promote and support health and well-being, and accelerate gender equality.
For both women and men, digital innovations and technologies hold immense potential to increase access to essential health services and to improve health and well-being. However, gender inequality constrains the ability of women and girls to benefit, compounding existing inequities in health outcomes. An estimated 61% of women in the Asia Pacific use the internet, compared to 75% of men. Women are about 12% less likely to own mobile phones than men, and among those not owning mobile phones, women outnumber men by 39%.
