Geneva health meet urged to counter rising anti-rights, anti-gender backlash across the world

By A Representative 

As the 79th World Health Assembly prepares to convene in Geneva from 18 to 23 May 2026, a growing chorus of gender equality and global health activists is urging health ministers from 194 countries to counter rising anti-rights and anti-gender backlash and to accelerate progress towards the indivisible goals of gender equality and Health for All. The call comes amid a flurry of advocacy events at the Women Deliver Conference 2026 in Narrm, Melbourne, where the SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026 also celebrated journalists from Africa and the Asia Pacific for their reporting on health, gender and development justice.

“It is a human rights imperative to counter anti-rights and anti-gender pushbacks while we accelerate progress towards achieving gender equality and the human right to health,” said Shobha Shukla, Coordinator and Host of SHE & Rights. “Both gender equality, including SDG-5 targets, and the right to health, including SDG-3 targets, are inseparable, inalienable and indivisible. While all countries promise to deliver on the WHA79 agenda and Health for All, would they also act upon to bridge the gaps in progress on gender equality? Governments cannot deliver on health for all while abetting anti-rights and anti-gender regressive agenda.” 

Shukla noted that the WHA79 agenda includes only a few references to gender equality, such as a strategy for integrating gender analysis into WHO’s work, which she said is clearly not enough to ensure universal healthcare coverage by 2030.

At the inaugural SHE & Rights Live session at the Women Deliver Conference, noted human rights defender Matcha Phorn-in, Executive Director of Sangsan Anakot Yawachon, demanded that gender equality and the human right to health must be central to all development policies, investments and projects. She called for full recognition of indigenous peoples and their rights, including free, prior and informed consent in all development projects, as well as accountability for human rights violations and environmental harms caused by business activities. 

Matcha also insisted on an inclusive, non-discriminatory healthcare system and public services that include full access to gender-affirming care and sexual and reproductive health and rights services, where no one is left behind. “We must move beyond symbolism when it comes to legal and policy reforms,” she said. Dr Harjyot Khosa, a gender justice and global health advocate, added: “With the current right-wing uproar, we need to remember that we demand sexual and reproductive health, rights and justice, and not just reproductive health. We also need to decolonise development finance, have radical inclusivity and pivot intersectionality.”

A special SHE & Rights session at the conference focused on the Decade of Healthy Ageing 2020–2030, an agenda item at WHA79, and the currently drafting of a legally binding UN treaty on the human rights of older persons. Shobha Shukla, who also leads Development Justice for Older Persons (DJ4OP), spoke of ageism as “one big elephant in the room,” noting that harmful norms and stereotypes affect women more than men and create double trouble for elderly persons who are also gender diverse, have a disability, or dare to speak out. 

“We, the elderly are not asking for mercy,” she said. “We are asking for our long overdue rights. We need to be recognised – not as burdens, but as rights holders and as vital contributors to families, communities, economies and public life.” 

Dr Mabel Bianco, a feminist leader from Argentina, warned that social protection for older persons is fragile and often lacks resources for healthcare, while Dr Pam Rajput of India shared how she is frequently asked if she is travelling alone on duty trips, a question that stinks of harmful stereotypes. 

Rita Widiadana, a senior journalist and editor from Indonesia, said: “Women over 60 must be seen, valued and respected. The media often portray elderly women as caregivers who are vulnerable and frail rather than as independent and empowered individuals.” Margaret Young, founder of Age Knowble, argued that development justice must be life course justice, as inequalities accumulate across life and become sharper in older age.

On abortion rights, activists made clear that safe abortion is healthcare and a human right. Debanjana Choudhuri, an independent gender justice activist, told the Women Deliver Conference: “Making abortion illegal does not make abortion rare. It completely makes it dangerous. It makes it deadly. And it makes it a privilege of the wealthy. Safe abortion is a human right, and it is not conditional, it is not a medical concession, and it is not a last resort.” 

Pauline Fernandez, Coordinator of the Philippine Safe Abortion Advocacy Network (PINSAN), described the Philippines’ laws as among the most restrictive in the world, with abortion criminalised under all circumstances. She noted that upwards of a million women undergo abortions annually in the country, and up to three women die every day from unsafe abortion complications. 

“The state and its conservative allies use faith and values as a shield to ensure that our bodies remain public property rather than our own,” she said, adding that the US withdrawal from international organisations sends a signal that governments may feel less pressured to comply with treaty obligations. 

Despite the backlash, Fernandez announced that a decriminalisation campaign has grown to include 130 organisations and over 30,000 petition signatories. In Nepal, where abortion is legal but not equitably accessible, Kalpana Acharya, Editor-in-Chief of Health TV Online, recounted the death of a 29-year-old health worker who resorted to an unregistered clinic due to social stigma, underscoring the gap between policy and implementation.

Transgender rights advocates also took the stage, warning that progress is being rolled back amid anti-gender pushbacks. Hua Boonyapisomparn of the International Trans Fund noted that while Thailand has approved 145 million baht (US$4.3 million) for free gender-affirming hormone therapy for over 200,000 transgender people, visibility does not equal rights. 

“Being seen is not the same as being protected,” she said. In India, transgender rights advocate Simran Shaikh Bharuch condemned recent amendments to the transgender law that were made without community consultation, saying the government pushed changes so that benefits go only to a subset of communities under the transgender umbrella. 

Joey Joleen Mataele, founder of the Tonga Leitis Association, said that laws in Tonga provide no protection against discrimination based on gender identity in employment, housing or public services, and that many transgender individuals struggle daily with stigma.

Meanwhile, the SHE & Rights Media Awards 2026 drew 351 applications from 29 countries, with 18 journalists awarded in the African and Asia Pacific regions. The awards ceremony was hosted on 29 April 2026 at the Women Deliver Conference in Narrm, Melbourne, in a hybrid format and is available to watch online. 

In the African region, the first prize went to Okello Jesus Ojara of Uganda, second prize to Nelson Mandela of Uganda, and third prize to Ambroisine Memede Azododassi of Togo. Special mention prizes were awarded to Audrey Galawu of Zimbabwe, Lakomekec Kinyere Anthony of Uganda, Joyce Namugambe of Uganda, David Arome of Nigeria, Monica Mayuni-Kayombo of Zambia, Esther Nakkazi of Uganda, Hamu Madzedze of Zimbabwe, Caroline Ameh of Nigeria, and Babacar Sene of Senegal. 

In the Asia Pacific region, first prize went to Firda Amalia Putri of Indonesia, second prize to Engly Tuy of Cambodia, and third prize to Kalpana Acharya of Nepal. Special mention prizes were awarded to Betty Herlina of Indonesia, Ruchi Bhattar of India, and Luthfi Maulana Adhari of Indonesia. A 39-member judging panel reviewed all submissions.