Global Launch of the Equity 2030 Alliance

World Health Summit 2023

Berlin, Germany

A UNFPA-led Global Partnership on Equitable and Women-Centric Research and Innovation

Date: 16 October 2023

Time: 12:45 - 13:45 am CEST

Venue: Europe room,
JW Marriott Hotel Berlin,
Stauffenbergstraße 26,
10785 Berlin, Germany

While technological innovations are growing at an exponential pace, their benefits are not equitable. Women are being excluded from the design and development of products and services, and women-centric solutions are not receiving the investment they need.

In a world designed for men, the effects for women range from inconvenient to damaging. Just 1% of global expenditure on research and development funding goes to women-centric solutions, with the exception of cancer research. Women are three times more likely to be injured in a car collision, because safety features on commercial vehicles are typically based on male crash test dummies. Insufficient inclusion of women in clinical trials put them on a long waiting list for much of the diagnostics and treatment. This exclusion not only hampers progress, but also leads to products and solutions that fail to address women's unique needs and concerns, resulting in unsafe and ineffective outcomes and disrupting economic opportunities for all.

At this year’s World Health Summit held in Berlin, Germany, UNFPA, the United Nations sexual and reproductive health agency, will be gathering government and business leaders, industry experts, academia, thought leaders, and global advocates to discuss innovative strategies, best practices, and transformative solutions to ensure the inclusion of women and girls when it comes to product research, design and development - once and for all.

Join UNFPA on 16th October at the World Health Summit in Berlin as we aim to disrupt this status quo.

Join us for the global launch of the Equity 2030 Alliance, a unified, global effort to deliver gender equity in science, technology and financing by 2030. Bringing together leading figures and expert minds from across business, academia and government, the Alliance aims to amplify and advocate for gender equitable solutions and policies in business and governments around the world.

Attendees of this event must be registered to attend the World Health Summit.
- RSVP your interest by noon EST October 10th 2023 via this form.
- UNFPA will facilitate registration and attendance - please note, registration and attendance are NOT guaranteed nor confirmed until you receive email confirmation.

For those unable to attend in person, the event will also be live streamed - please RSVP here to receive the livestream link.
Interviews with speakers and panelists are available by request after the event - please send requests to zialam@unfpa.org

Agenda and Speakers

Chair: Dr. Natalia Kanem, Executive Director or UNFPA
Moderator: Mr. Cherno Jobatey, renowned journalist and TV host
Guest Expert Speaker: Dr. Astrid Linder, Inventor of the first female crash dummy, Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute

Panelists

H.E. Ms. Lariba Zuweira Abudu, Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection of Ghana
H.E. Ms. Bjørg Sandkjær, State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway
Prof. Ilona Kickbusch, Founding Director, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, Global Health Center
Dr. Pascale Allotey, Director, Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research SRH, World Health Organization (WHO)
Dr. Maike Scharp, Foundation Strategy Office, Deputy Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Ivor Horn, Chief Health Equity Officer, Google
Mr. Claus Runge, Senior Vice President, Global Head of Market Access, Public Affairs & Sustainability at Bayer Pharma
Mr. Michael Pergine, Senior Vice President, Head of Worldwide Government Affairs and Policy, Organon
Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi, President, Medical Women’s International Association
Mr. Timothy Bardlavens, Director of Product Equity, Adobe Inc.
Dr. Susanne Weissbäcker, Partner, Ernst & Young GmbH Parthenon - Strategy, Health Sciences & Wellness