“Women are the first victims of budgetary austerity in health matters”

On Monday, April 14, the Drôme departmental council announced the closure, for economic reasons, of seven sexual health centers and the associated 20% reduction in its subsidies to Family Planning. On Tuesday, April 15, François Bayrou supported the Minister of the Economy's announcements regarding the need to make savings of $40 billion in the state budget: a statement well ahead of the usual budget discussions, with the stated objective of accustoming the French people to the upcoming restrictions now.

Yet, the Covid-19 crisis should have collectively taught us this: we should never again become accustomed to healthcare budget cuts. It's a social, scientific, and economic absurdity.

Because health, even more than other areas, is sensitive to class inequalities; the most disadvantaged are often the sickest and the least well-treated. Because our scientific advances in France are major and our healthcare system, stifled by a lack of resources, does not pay tribute to them. Because, as early as 2006, the World Health Organization asked States to "consider prevention as an effective investment and [to] reallocate resources accordingly." And because, since 2023, our national prevention budgets have continued to decline.

Beyond the cliché, health is truly what remains when we have nothing left: it should be everywhere, all the time, in all circumstances, our common priority; the first pillar of our society, the first guarantee of our equality. And, precisely when we talk about equality, sexual health should never again be considered a second-rate discipline.

Sexual health centers – specialized medical institutions and specific services within hospital structures – participate in the screening and treatment of sexually transmitted infections: according to the National Sexual Health Strategy 2017-2030, today, 13% of people living with HIV are still unaware of it.

You have 60.49% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.