Care work

We appreciate that the report recognizes the contribution that care and support work makes to the global economy. To talk seriously about care is to talk about money. We support its assertion that care and support systems must be grounded in an intersectional, feminist, and human rights-based approach, and that the work of those who provide care must be decent, formalized, and well-paid. We emphasize the obligations of States in this matter, and the need to reduce and redistribute unpaid care work.

States are failing in their obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to health and coverage alone is not enough. Even in countries with universal health care like Canada, over 6.5 million people lack access to a family doctor. As public health systems face mounting pressure from austerity measures, privatization, chronic funding cuts, and impact of foreign debt and economic sanctions, inadequate compensation and heavy administrative burdens are driving burnout and dissatisfaction among healthcare workers. These increasing barriers to access and the erosion of global health infrastructures are deepening inequities, especially for marginalized communities.

We underscore the crucial role of community-based networks—generally composed of women. Their support and provision of information, supplies, and services in relation to reproductive decisions and needs, including abortion, are essential both for the effective exercise of rights and for preventing serious harm and loss of life.