Written by Kate Leggett, Account Manager
Last week, the Renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England was published, a much-anticipated opportunity for Labour to deliver on their manifesto promises of never again letting women’s health be neglected.
The Renewed Strategy sets out a vision for a ‘one-stop shop’ for women’s health in the new NHS neighbourhood model and covers many of the gaps left by the 2022 Strategy. This includes commitments around pain relief for invasive procedures, access to contraception including abortion, and maternal health.
Critically, the renewal aims to address the significant inequalities spanning women’s health in the UK, where the wealthiest 10% of women live almost 10 years longer than the poorest 10%, and maternal mortality rates for women in England from Black ethnic minorities are nearly 3 times higher compared to White women.
Whilst the Strategy signals positive intent that the Government is serious about addressing the failings of the NHS for women, it is less clear on the delivery and funding of the commitments. Given the increasingly concerning shifts in women’s rights globally, we need more than good intentions to deliver genuine change in women’s healthcare.
From ambition to delivery: does the Strategy do enough to create real step change?
Wes Streeting rightly reflected that the previous Strategy set the right direction but, “had nothing like the means to deliver real and lasting change”. In 2022, the previous Government were still in the throes of early-stage recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, meaning not enough focus was given to delivery of the Strategy – however, this was compounded by a distinct lack of ring-fenced funding for its implementation.
So, what will be different this time? Streeting has promised relentless focus and has made clear the need for action beyond the NHS, such as promising investment in research and development (R&D) and FemTech (for which the UK is cited as a key hub) – this is crucial, given that currently only 5% of global health R&D targets female-specific conditions.
But will this be enough, in a country with the largest female health gap in the G20 and the 12th largest globally?
If the ambitions of this renewal are to be realised, funding will be essential. However, the Strategy does not come with any new money, with ICBs expected to implement changes using existing budgets, which feels like a tall order within the context of wider NHS reform and efficiency cuts. Therefore, despite promising new commitments, the question of how these will be implemented remains.
Why women’s health must look beyond borders
These delivery challenges do not exist in a vacuum. Women’s health policy in England is increasingly shaped by global trends in evidence, rights and access. Therefore, even if the Strategy is enough to move the needle in England, change cannot happen in isolation. Amongst intensifying division around gender equality, in a world where women’s rights are being systematically rolled back, progress in women’s health requires change to extend beyond the UK’s own borders.
Internationally, aid cuts, conflict and rolling back of policy commitments are making it increasingly difficult for women to receive the care they need:
International aid cuts are expected to lead to a loss of up to 100 million users of contraception across 41 countries by 2030
Conflict and economic constraints are significantly impacting women’s access to care in many countries across the Middle East and Africa, due to poor or inaccessible healthcare infrastructure or a lack of specialist healthcare professionals
Restrictions on abortion care in the US are ongoing, despite evidence showing that this does not reduce the number of abortions, merely the number of safe abortions
Global setbacks matter for progress everywhere; there is a clear need to come together to prioritise women’s health across the globe.
Global progress needs global cohesion
Knowledge transfer and global accountability are key mechanisms for addressing the gender health gap and systemic change. The WHO Best Buys, supported by the Sustainable Development Goals, offer a shared yardstick: setting expectations, tracking progress and exposing where action is falling short across disease areas.
WHO’s Global Breast Cancer Initiative and the WHO Cervical Cancer Elimination Initiative show how structured global collaboration accelerates change – spreading evidence, best practice and practical lessons between countries.
Together, these principles demonstrate that global system change in women’s health will not happen by intention alone – it demands international collaboration and relentless drive, to ensure that every woman, everywhere, feels the benefits of real, measurable progress.
What next: a moment to act on women’s health
The Renewed Women’s Health Strategy is an important step in reinforcing women’s health as a policy priority in the UK, but it will only make a difference if backed by sustained focus, prioritisation and funding for delivery.
Yet progress also cannot be viewed in isolation. The struggle for better women’s health does not stop at our borders, and global shifts in women’s rights, access to care and equitable research will continue to shape outcomes at home. As International Day of Action for Women’s Health approaches next month, this is a moment for those working across health and life sciences in the UK and internationally to focus less on signals of intent, and more on what will genuinely change care for women over the long term.
To that end, the real test of the UK Government’s Renewed Strategy will be whether it delivers measurable improvements in women’s experiences and outcomes – not just renewed attention.