Trust Hospital observed International Women’s Day (IWD) 2023 with a call for women to prioritize their self-care and well-being as it is essential for the betterment of society. The event, with the theme ‘The Totally Well Woman; A Woman’s Health Conversation’ featured a series of speakers advocating for women to embrace equity without neglecting their own well-being.
Executive Director of Strategic Communications Africa (Stratcomm Africa) Limited, Esther AN Cobbah, who was a guest speaker at the event, emphasized the importance of self-care and urged women not to be complacent when it comes to their health and wellbeing.
She noted that this has become increasingly important as women juggle multiple responsibilities, including careers, families, children, community involvement and relationships, leaving them with little time or energy to take care of themselves.
“As women, the disadvantaged position we find ourselves in takes a toll on our well-being – physical, emotional, mental, psychological and spiritual. Relating our theme to this year’s overarching IWD theme – Embracing Equity, the associated symbolism of crossing the hands over the chest is a powerful image of self-embracing, reminding us to take care of ourselves amidst all that we have to take responsibility, said Ms. Cobbah.
According to recent surveys, women today are less satisfied than they were in the previous forty years. Many experts cite a lack of free time as a key contributing factor to this trend.
Mrs. Cobbah urged women to be intentional about taking time out for the sake of their sanity and to prioritize themselves, among other things, stating, “If we’re okay, the world will be okay. If the janitor is not well, the world is not well.”
Trust Hospital CEO Dr. Juliana Oye Ameh, expressed her company’s commitment to increasing opportunities for women to contribute to the growth of the organization and the realization of this year’s IWD theme ‘Embrace Equity’. This, she said, includes supporting career development by enrolling female employees in training programs.
“You can tell how far an organization will go by the number of women on staff; and here at Trust Hospital, we have more women than men and we’re getting things done. This year’s IWD was a call to action to accelerate gender equality. At Trust, we give and will continue to give equal opportunities.
“We support women in career development by enrolling the majority of our female employees in one form of training or another. Our goal is greater inclusion and we seek to celebrate, recognize and appreciate all of you in your different roles,” said Dr. Ameh, while urging the women of Trust Hospital to continue to learn and take every opportunity to learn and grow.
The Trust Hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Nana Ama Abankwa, in a presentation on the theme ‘Welfare for the Corporate Woman’, highlighted the potential challenges and opportunities that corporate women may face, as well as solutions to some of these challenges .
The event also included an interactive session, in which some participants discussed how they managed to rise through the ranks as women despite all their responsibilities. Speakers emphasized the importance of women empowering themselves and speaking up when needed, adding value to themselves and developing their skills as they climb the corporate ladder.