14508/09 ADD 1 PL/vk 1 DG G COUNCIL OF THE ... - Europa

Latvia had the greatest proportion of men and women with experience of unmet demands (figure
4.3.3). In a majority of countries the proportion of men and women with unmet demands varies
between one and ten percent. In those Member States both men’s and women’s demands are met to
the greatest extent in Slovenia,. In figure 4.3.4 the differences between women and men are further
illustrated. In more than half of the countries the proportion of women is larger than the proportion
of men with unmet demands; in seven countries the proportions are approximately the same, and in
those four countries with the highest proportions of women with unmet demands the differences
between the sexes are also the greatest. In Luxembourg the gap between the sexes is as large as in
Poland – but reversed.
When the reasons for unmet demands are introduced into the statistics mentioned above, an
interesting pattern emerges. Among those who have forced reasons for their unmet demands, the
proportion of women is greater than the proportion of men in almost all countries; but less than one
percent for more than half the countries (figure 4.3.5) Among those who chose themselves not to
have their demands met, the proportion of men was larger than the proportion of women in a
majority of countries (figure 4.3.6). Here, too, the differences were mostly small.
In all EU countries which presented data on the causes of death in 2006, a greater proportion of
women than men died from cardio-vascular diseases (figure 4.3.7). Bulgaria was the country
reporting the highest proportions of women and men dying from cardio-vascular disease (71 % of
the women and 62 % of the men). The lowest proportions were found in France (31 % of the
women and 26 % of the men). The differences between the proportions of women and men who die
from cardio-vascular diseases are shown in figure 4.3.8. Among the five countries with the highest
proportions of women dying from cardio-vascular diseases (figure 4.3.7), four had the largest
differences between women and men (figure 4.3.8).
4.3.4 Trends emphasised in Member States' reporting to the UNECE
In many EU countries preventive programmes addressing women’s health issues have been set up,
such as screening for breast cancer, cervical cancer and for HIV infection among pregnant women.
In a few countries, the vaccination of girls against HPV virus infections and future cervical cancer
has been launched. Attitudes to contraception and legal abortion vary between countries, as do the
laws and the investment of society in terms of allocating resources.
14508/09 ADD 1 PL/vk 67
ANNEX DG G EN