The seventieth session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 9 to 19 March 2026.
- Priority theme: Ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws, policies, and practices, and addressing structural barriers
- Review theme: Women’s full and effective participation and decision making in public life, as well as the elimination of violence, for achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls (agreed conclusions of the sixty-fifth session)
AMWA was well represented at the CSW by Drs. Eliza Chin, Padmini Murthy, Roberta Gebhard Gloria Bachmann, Rosy Thachil, and Connie Newman.
AMWA played an integral role in the organizion or participation in the following side events:
Women in Medicine: Reflecting on Current Inequities in Medicine
March 10, 2026 | 2:30 pm – 4:00 pm United Nations Church Center
Organized by the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. Co-sponsors: AMWA and Medical Women’s International Association.
This event featured a screening of the powerful film, 1001 CUTS followed by a dynamic discussion with filmmaker Dr. Sarah Temkin alongside Dr. Modupe Tunde-Byass (President, Federation Medical Women of Canada), Dr. Seema Marwaha (President-elect, Federation Medical Women of Canada), and Dr. Pringle Miller (Founder, Physician Just Equity and AMWA Member). Dr. Amany Asfour, President of the Medical Women’s International Association, provided remarks underscoring the global importance of advancing equity and supporting women physicians across all stages of their careers. Together, the conversation highlighted both the persistent challenges and actionable solutions to drive cultural change in medicine.
Advancing Gender Justice in Global Health to Achieve Health Equity Women in Global Health and Medical Women’s International Association | March 12, 2026 | 9:30 – 11:00 am NYU Medical Center
Organized by Women in Global Health. AMWA leaders participated in panel discussions.
This event examined how gender-responsive governance, equitable financing, inclusive leadership, and strengthened evidence systems can address the structural drivers of gender inequality in health. The discussion emphasized the importance of applying a gender justice lens throughout the formulation, implementation, and evaluation of health legislation, policies, and programs to strengthen accountability and improve health and well-being for all.
In the words of Executive Director WGH Dr. Magda Robalo,“If we are serious about achieving Universal Health Coverage, about advancing SDG 3 and SDG 5, and about realizing the vision of the Beijing Platform for Action, then gender justice must be embedded in the way health systems are governed, financed, and led…achieving health equity requires transforming who leads, how decisions are made, and whose voices shape the future of global health.”
The Moderator of the Event was Ms. Fatou Baldeh, Founder and CEO Women in Liberation and Leadership in The Gambia. Panelists included Dr. Eliza Lo Chin (Executive Director AMWA and MWIA Treasurer), Dr. Donna Cill (Clinical Associate Professor at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing) Dr. Bev Johnson (WGH Canada Chair and MWIA UN Representative), Dr. Padmini Murthy (AMWA Global health Lead and WGH New York). Dr. Connie Newman (MWIA Permanent Representative to UN Adjunct Professor NYU Grossman School of Medicine), and Dr. Connie Soborn Sensor (Chief Representative to the United Nations for the League of Women Voters, Global NGO Executive Committee).
Closing remarks were provided by Dr. Amany Asfour, President of the Medical Women’s International Association.
Invisible No More: Women’s Voices on Perinatal Depression, Policy and Power
March 13, 2026 | 2:30 – 4:00 pm United Nations Church Center
Organized by Soroptimist International and Medical Women’s International Association. Co-sponsors: AMWA and Federation of Medical Women of Canada
Postpartum depression constitutes a major global public health concern with significant implications for women’s health, infant development, and long-term population wellbeing. Increasing evidence shows that postpartum depression is not solely an individual clinical condition, but one shaped by health system capacity, access to screening and care, social protection, gender inequality, economic insecurity, and exposure to violence.
Organizers for the event were Lindsay Green (UK, SI GB and India), Sandra Gonzalez Skold (Sweden, SI GB and Ireland)), Dr. Surbhi Sethia (India, SI GB and Ireland), Dr. Bev Johnson (Canada, Past president FMWC and current MWIA Representative to UN) and Dr. Connie Newman (USA, AMWA Past President and MWIA Representative to the UN).
Objectives of this program included increasing recognition of perinatal depression as a gender justice and policy issue, promoting civil society advocacy for maternal mental health, enhancing collaboration between NGOs across regions and sectors, and advocating for policies to address these issues.
The program provided an overview of perinatal depression, including its symptoms, risk factors, screening and prevalence. A film created by Dr. Sethia, featured two mothers from India who talked about their experiences with postpartum depression.
Learn more here: https://postnataldepression.lovable.app
EmpowerHER Justice: Advancing Health, Safety, and Leadership for Women and Girls
March 16, 2026 | 4:30 – 6:00 pm United Nations Church Center
Organized by AMWA. Co-sponsors Medical Women’s International Association and Federation of Medical Women of Canada
This side event featured a keynote by Dr. Anita Ravi who spoke about her work as the founder and CEO of PurpLE Health Foundation,a pioneering nonprofit organization working to address gender-based violence care and whose novel care model provides medical care, research data, clinician training, and policy engagement.
Two panel discussions explored gender-based violence across the U.S., Canada, and Afghanistan, as well as within the United Nations, highlighting both the global scope of the issue and the importance of coordinated, cross-sector responses. Panelists shared practical strategies to increase awareness and improve screening for domestic violence in primary care settings, emphasizing trauma-informed approaches, culturally responsive care, and the critical role of healthcare providers in early identification and intervention.
The session also underscored the importance of strengthening partnerships between clinicians, community organizations, and policymakers to close gaps in care, support survivors, and advance sustainable systems-level change. Across discussions, a unifying theme emerged: addressing gender-based violence is not only a clinical responsibility, but a public health and human rights imperative requiring leadership, advocacy, and collective action.
Justice in the Digital Age: Advancing Women’s Right to Health in Digitally Excluded Contexts
March 19, 2026 | 11:30 am – 1:00 pm United Nations Conference Room
Hosted by the Permanent Mission of Greece and the Permanent Mission of Portugalto the United Nations and the Nanopoulos Foundation. Co-Sponsors: Medical Women’s International Association, AMWA, and other NGOs.
This program addressed digital exclusion in healthcare as a structural barrier to women’s equality and women’s right to health. MWIA Past President Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi discussed the urgent challenges facing women’s access to digital health tools in low-resource or low-literacy settings, and how international professional networks and civil society organizations can advance more inclusive digital health governance worldwide. MWIA UN Representative and AMWA Past President Dr. Connie Newman Dr. Newman discussed how training programs for healthcare professionals can prepare them to address gender bias and digital literacy barriers in healthcare, and how professional medical associations can promote equitable and gender-responsive digital health policies. Others panelists included Dr. Karine Sargsyan, Cedars-Sinai; Dr. Tom McHale, Physicians for Human Rights, Dr. Maliha Hashmi, Senior Healthcare Executive, Dr Graciela Soto, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, U.S. Women’s Caucus. Video Link
Dr Murthy represented AMWA as a keynote for two panel discussions Widows Lifeline (March 19) and CSW-70 Better Together (March 20). Dr Murthy was also the recipient of two awards during CSW 70 – the Handshake Humanitarian Award for Global Women’s Health and Medical Advocacy (on March 10 at a Gala in the Church Center) and Women’s Leadership Award (March 18th at the Global Women Leadership Summit and Impact Ceremony organized by World Women Organization).
Report prepared by Dr. Padmini Murthy, Dr. Connie Newman, and Dr. Eliza Chin.
More photos coming soon!
