For generations, women have often been the first to notice when a family member is unwell but the last to seek care for themselves.
However, this needs to change, experts at a recently concluded two-day national conference on women’s health said, adding that it's time preventive healthcare becomes a norm, moving beyond awareness and screening to timely diagnosis, treatment and follow-up.
Setting the tone for the discussion, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Vijaya K Rahatkar called for women to be placed at the centre of preventive healthcare.
“By putting the women at the centre of healthcare, not only the individual gets empowered but also her family, community and nation as a whole."
"Prevention is not only about screening; awareness needs to be linked to early diagnosis, proper referrals, treatment and follow-ups. Every single woman should get access to the health care system with dignity and confidence,” said Rahatkar.
That shift is important because women’s health needs change throughout their lives. Menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, anaemia, reproductive health, menopause, mental health and chronic diseases all require attention at different stages. A single health camp or an annual screening drive cannot address these needs on its own.
Experts at the conference aptly titled Nari Shakti 3.0, organised by the Mediways Health Foundation, also pointed to a gap that is often overlooked in preventive healthcare: what happens after a test.
A woman may undergo a mammogram, cervical cancer screening or blood test, but if she does not receive the result, understand it, consult a doctor or reach an appropriate facility for treatment, the screening exercise may not translate into better health, said Prof (Dr) Goura Kishor Rath, renowned radiation oncologist and former head of the National Cancer Institute, AIIMS, New Delhi.
She stressed the importance of preventing cancer before it develops, including through HPV vaccination and appropriate screening.
A session on early detection examined the entire pathway — from screening and diagnosis to referral, treatment and post-treatment care. Experts also discussed the role of nutrition, lifestyle and awareness in reducing preventable health risks.
The focus, therefore, was not simply on detecting disease earlier but on ensuring that women do not fall out of the healthcare system after detection.
As more women join and remain in the workforce, experts asserted that healthcare programmes must take into account the practical barriers that can prevent women from seeking care — including lack of time, rigid work schedules and the difficulty of taking leave for routine health appointments.
Workplace health programmes should therefore go beyond periodic screening camps and create an environment where women can actually complete the healthcare journey, said Ektaa Rathi, COO, Mediways Health Foundation. She proposed a specific workplace measure: “We propose that one leave day be given to all women professionals for mammography and other health checkups.”
Cancer prevention received considerable attention for the obvious reasons given that the numbers are on the increase, but experts stressed that women’s health cannot be reduced to breast and cervical cancer alone.
Anaemia, malnutrition, menstrual health, mental health and reproductive health also require sustained attention. These issues may not always receive the same visibility as major diseases but can affect women’s quality of life and their ability to study, work and care for their families, General Physician Lt Col (Dr) Shweta Bhardwaj said on the basis of her extensive experience spanning almost two decades, serving in remote parts of the country.
She said she has seen women repeatedly putting their own health last.
“We need to reach out to her to tell her how keeping an eye on basic health indicators like blood and nutrition level can go a long way in keeping her family healthy.”
Ritesh Sinha, CSR Head, Krishna Marut too highlighted the need for long-term, project-based interventions in areas such as anaemia, malnutrition, mental health and menstrual health.
The conference also called for a change in the way corporate social responsibility programmes approach healthcare. Instead of one-time camps, panellists advocated continuous, need-based interventions that connect awareness with consultation, treatment and follow-up.
Dr Bhavani Nair, AVP Clinical Operation (North India) and Strategic Projects, Clove Dental, agreed that CSR initiatives should connect screening with awareness, consultation and treatment, while Aditya Mishra, Head CSR & ESG Signature Global, stressed the importance of creating a continuum from prevention to diagnosis and care.
Pragya Sharma, Director at Maharishi Ayurveda, also talked about the importance of holistic health of the women, calling them pivotal to the family.
Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) too were discussed as potential tools to strengthen women’s healthcare, particularly early detection.
Experts also discussed threadbare the use of health data, personalised care, portable testing and AI-assisted technologies to support doctors and improve decision-making.
Roch Fereira, Senior Vice President (Marketing), Virtusa, said, “Breast, cervical and ovarian cancers have been rightly dominating conversations around women's health. Yet, 20,000+ Indian women still die annually from pregnancy and childbirth; many of these deaths are preventable, with three quarters occurring in rural areas. Haemorrhage and hypertension account for nearly 40% of these deaths, compounded by anaemia, which affects 52% of pregnant women."
“This is where AI can make a meaningful difference by enabling early intervention. Proactively analysing blood pressure and haemoglobin trends could flag high risk pregnancies, while AI-guided handheld ultrasound devices could bring specialist insights to rural clinics. Existing government programmes like Anaemia Mukt Bharat provide a foundation for AI to build on."
“Also, every maternal mortality averted impacts more than two lives. It binds a family whole and gives a child a future. Within five years, AI can help make that a closer reality,” said Ferreira.
But the conference also underscored an important caveat: technology cannot compensate for gaps in basic healthcare access.
An AI tool may identify a woman as high risk, but she still needs a healthcare worker, a functioning referral system, affordable treatment and follow-up care. This makes strengthening primary healthcare as important as introducing new technology, said the experts.
Kishor Makwana, Chairman, National Commission for Scheduled Castes; Sunita Duggal, former Member of Parliament from Sirsa; and Padma Shri awardees Nalini Asthana and Kamalini Asthana were also present during the inauguration of the conference.
