Press Releases

Maria Rauch-Kallat, Minister for Health and Women: Priorities in the field of health and women

"Women and Health - Future and Wealth!“ This is the motto of Minister for Health and Women, Maria Rauch-Kallat, who intends to concentrate on four issues during the Austrian Presidency of the Council

At a press conference today, Friday, Maria Rauch-Kallat presented an ambitious work programme for the Austrian Presidency. In the area of health policy, diabetes and women's health are to be prioritised: "In parallel to an expert conference in the middle of February, information campaigns are to start across Austria which highlight the risk of undiagnosed diabetes and provide information about preventive measures", according to the minister. "The forecasts of the WHO and the results of the first Austrian diabetes report illustrate the need for action. Worldwide, 170 million people are currently affected, including 22.5 million in Europe alone." At the conference, the Austrian diabetes report will be presented at a European level and proposed solutions for prevention and disease management will be developed.

The second priority is women's health and more particularly the four conditions endometriosis, osteoporosis, cardiovascular diseases and smoking/lung cancer. "Specifically in the case of cardiovascular diseases, women have a higher mortality rate than men. Greater gender sensitivity is required to recognise symptoms properly and treat them in good time. Women are not men and this fact must also be taken into account in medical training and treatment." She said that the goal of the Austrian Presidency was to initiate a European women's health report to document the progress of all 25 EU countries in this area.

"Harmful traditional practices", i.e. genital mutilation, forced marriage and honour killings, are increasingly posing a problem inside the EU. "At the national level, I already presented a package of measures in September 2005 together with all the Austrian ministers to combat traditional violence against women. In the context of a conference of ministers we will now be attempting at the European level not only to develop ways and means of providing the best possible assistance to those affected but also to discuss how to ensure the necessary information and education for male family members."

In May 2006, an expert conference will discuss measures for the gradual closing of the "income gap", the fourth priority. Under the chairmanship of the Austrian Women's Minister Rauch-Kallat and the Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, representatives of equal opportunities institutions in the Member States, authors of studies and the representatives of the social partners are to be given a platform.