As the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA78) prepares to convene later this month, a powerful new report by The Lancet Commission on Gender and Global Health has raised serious concerns over growing gender-based injustices affecting women and gender-diverse individuals in the face of war, climate disasters, and humanitarian emergencies.
The report calls on world leaders to urgently integrate gender justice into health systems, warning that the failure to act now could deepen inequalities and further endanger lives.
Ms. Shobha Shukla, Executive Director of Citizen News Service (CNS) and coordinator of the SHE & Rights initiative, stressed the severity of the crisis: “We are in the fight of our lives against anti-gender rhetoric and the rollback of gender rights. Wars, climate disasters, and conflicts don’t just destroy systems—they worsen the everyday crisis of inequality for women and gender-diverse people.”
One of the most harrowing examples, the report notes, is Afghanistan, where the Taliban’s return to power has drastically worsened conditions for LGBTQI+ communities.
Parwen Hussaini, a lesbian rights advocate from Ghazni, narrowly escaped arrest by the Taliban in March 2025. Her partner, Maryam, was not as lucky—she remains imprisoned and reportedly tortured for her sexual orientation.
The report and testimonies come as a sobering reminder of the urgent need for inclusive health systems that prioritise gender justice, especially in regions affected by conflict and crisis.
“Since the Taliban took power, there is nothing left for us,” Parwen said from Iran, where she now faces possible deportation. “We had no rights then, and we have none now. But at least before, we had a little hope.”
Despite desperate pleas to major rights organisations, it was only the UK-based Peter Tatchell Foundation that came to her aid. But Parwen’s future remains precarious.
The CEO of Roshaniya, an LGBTQI+ Afghan rights network, Nemat Sadat, warned that, “If deported, Parwen could be imprisoned or even executed. “There are over 1,000 LGBTQI+ people still trapped in Afghanistan. We’ve helped 265 escape, but time is running out.”
In South Sudan, civil conflict continues to cripple the healthcare system, with devastating consequences for women and marginalized populations.
The Executive Director of the Women’s Empowerment Centre, Rachel Adau, said, “Our healthcare system is crumbling. Pregnant women come to hospitals and find no gloves, no beds, no midwives. Many give birth at home and die. Gender-based violence is rampant, rape, sexual abuse, and domestic violence are daily occurrences.”
Adau noted that people with disabilities, those living with HIV, and LGBTQI+ persons face even more limited access to healthcare and justice.
The impact of war in Gaza has spilled into Lebanon, where over 4,000 people have died and 1.3 million have been displaced, mainly in southern Lebanon. Hospitals have been bombed, and social services have been overwhelmed.
Regional Lead with the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), Bertho Makso, said, “Vulnerable groups, especially LGBTQI+ individuals, refugees, and people with HIV, are bearing the brunt. It is community-based groups that are filling the gap, but resources are thin.”
In Kenya, a country lauded for recognising intersex persons in its constitution, the government’s endorsement of the Geneva Consensus Declaration and hosting of a “family values” conference has stirred controversy.
The Executive Director of Reproductive Health Network Kenya, Nelly Munyasia, warned that, “Such hosting creates space for anti-rights movements to infiltrate policy. They claim to defend African values, but hate, violence, and exclusion are not African.”
Munyasia added: “We will not be gagged. We will ensure that every person in Africa enjoys their rights, regardless of their gender or identity.”
From floods to famine, war to displacement, the Global South remains at the epicentre of humanitarian disasters, most of which disproportionately affect women and LGBTQI+ populations.
“When crises hit, it’s women and girls—and gender-diverse individuals—who suffer most,” Munyasia said. “We see early marriages, sexual exploitation, and disrupted access to education and health care.”
The Lancet report goes beyond documenting suffering; it calls for a fundamental transformation in how health systems approach gender.
A Lancet Commissioner and Executive Director at ICRW Asia, Dr. Ravi Verma, added that, “Gender justice in global health isn’t just technical. It’s about disrupting the power dynamics embedded in society, history, and the economy. If we want inclusive health systems, we must centre equity in every policy and programme.”
The report concludes that achieving gender justice is foundational to reaching all Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), not just health.
“Gender inequality and toxic masculinity must end with us,” Shukla said. “This is our moment to demand a feminist, gender-just world order where no one is left behind.”
