3 Innovations Are Closing the Gender Health Gap Across the World

Women around the world spend more of their lives in poor health than men, and a new report from the World Economic Forum and McKinsey & Co.

says that could have a huge economic impact.

The report, Closing the Women's Health Gap: A $1 trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies, notes that 75 million years of life are lost each year due to women's poor health, and the gap could be closed by 2040, with most of the potential improvement coming from women of working age.

"This is a healthcare cost, it's a cost to the economy, and it's a cost to women's lives for not being able to work and participate in the economy and be their best potential self in society," Anita Zaidi, co-chair of the Global Alliance for Women's Health, tells Newsweek.

The report found that the top 10 causes of women's health issues contribute more than 50% of the economic impact associated with closing the gap.

Zaidi points to cervical cancer, which is the fourth most frequent cancer in women worldwide and kills 342,000 a year, as an example.

The Global Alliance for Women's Health, which has 42 organizations on board, aims to improve billions of lives by improving access to family planning, vaccinations

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