The Women 20 (W20) is asking G20 governments to commit to measurable health targets for women by 2031. Its health advocacy brief, issued under the 2026 W20 USA presidency, calls for wider access to primary care, fewer preventable maternal deaths and more cervical cancer prevention. For employers, insurers, health systems and life sciences companies, the targets point to where public spending and regulation could move.
The targets
The brief’s first recommendation is to strengthen gender-responsive universal health coverage. It asks governments to raise women’s access to affordable primary care toward 90% coverage by 2031. The baseline is 2024, measured with the World Health Organization’s Universal Health Coverage Service Coverage Index.
The same recommendation asks governments to cut preventable maternal mortality by 30% from 2023 levels. It calls for wider vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV) and more cervical cancer screening, without setting a coverage number. It also asks governments to remove barriers to sexual and reproductive health services, with priority for underserved groups.
A fourth recommendation asks governments to collect and publish sex-disaggregated health data and to invest more in sex- and gender-sensitive medical research. It also calls for responsible, privacy-protective use of digital health and AI tools. The brief describes this data as “the foundation” for the credibility of every other target. It sets no number or date for it.
The global picture
WHO estimates that about 260,000 women died during and after pregnancy and childbirth in 2023, and that most of those deaths could have been prevented. The global maternal mortality ratio was 197 per 100,000 live births in 2023. The Sustainable Development Goal is below 70 by 2030, which WHO says would need an annual rate of reduction of almost 15%.
On cervical cancer, WHO reports around 604,000 new cases and around 280,000 deaths in 2024. Its elimination strategy sets three targets for 2030: 90% of girls fully vaccinated against HPV by age 15, 70% of women screened with a high-performance test by 35 and again by 45, and 90% of women with cervical disease receiving treatment. The W20 brief says no G20 member is on track across all three.
Why it matters for business
The brief frames health as a workforce issue. It says coverage gaps “undercut the economic benefit of a healthy workforce.” Its other recommendations, on workplace mental health standards and menopause, are aimed directly at employers.
The W20’s asks are advice to G20 governments, which decide what goes into any leaders’ declaration. G20 leaders meet in Miami on December 14 and 15.
Sources
- W20 Advocacy Brief: Advancing Women’s Health (Women 20, 2026 USA presidency)
- Maternal mortality fact sheet (World Health Organization)
- Cervical cancer fact sheet (World Health Organization)
- Global strategy to accelerate the elimination of cervical cancer as a public health problem (World Health Organization)
- W20 presidencies (Women 20)
- Media Logistics for the G20 Leaders’ Summit in Miami, Florida (U.S. Department of State, October 28, 2026)
