07 - Designing Better Systems for Women’s Health: From Silence to Solutions

Why It Matters

Addressing women’s health silos unlocks market opportunities, reduces gender‑based health inequities, and drives sustainable economic growth across Asia.

Key Takeaways

• Integrate menstrual products into corporate washrooms to normalize care.
• Educate male decision‑makers on women’s health to drive policy change.
• Community‑based programs can provide free surgeries and insurance for underserved women.
• Reusable period products and profit‑sharing models aim to end urban period poverty.
• Gender disparity in Indian healthcare shows only 12% women decide own care.

Summary

The AVPN Gender Agenda episode spotlights systemic gaps in women’s health across Asia, featuring Olivia Coates‑James of Luna/Good Period and Shruti Lohia Arora of India Roma Healthcare. Both discuss why women’s health remains siloed and how gender‑responsive solutions can be built.

Key insights include the stark gender disparity in Indian healthcare—only 12% of women aged 15‑49 make decisions about their own care—and the power of community‑driven programs that provide free surgeries, insurance enrollment, and education. Olivia describes scaling from grassroots talks to placing reusable period products in over 3,000 corporate washrooms, while Shruti highlights free insurance schemes and women‑only health initiatives in Kerala hospitals.

Illustrative quotes underscore the urgency: Olivia notes that 90% of Hong Kong corporate women resort to toilet paper for periods, prompting CEOs to act once educated. Shruti points to men’s dominance in health‑care funding decisions, stressing that informed male leaders can shift resource allocation toward women.

The discussion signals that businesses, schools, and hospitals must embed women’s health education into policies and curricula, leveraging profit‑sharing models and corporate partnerships to eradicate period poverty and improve overall health outcomes.

Original Description

Women’s health is essential — so why is it still an afterthought in public health systems?

In this episode, we sit down with Olivia Cotes-James, founder of Good Period, LUÜNA and AVPN Gender Equality Ambassador, and Shruti Lohia Hora, healthcare leader and member of the Asia Gender Network, to unpack the persistent gaps in how healthcare systems across Asia serve women.

Together, they explore the stigma, system design flaws, and cultural blind spots that continue to undermine access to basic care — from menstruation to maternal health. Drawing from their own work and lived experiences, Olivia and Shruti offer insight into what real change looks like on the ground, and what it will take to make women’s health a true public health priority.