| | DECEMBER 20188EXPERTS TALKGlobally, over the years, healthcare products and solutions were designed, developed, and delivered without recognizing the need for differ-entiated care for men and women considering the fundamental dif-ferences in physical, physiological and psychological factors. Impact of this is particularly true in India where the disparity in healthcare delivery is high based on differ-ences in gender, socio-economic status and regional divide, and this often leads healthcare delivery for women on the back foot.There is a general trend to-wards restricting women's health to maternal and childcare, family planning, and fertility; however, prevalence of certain chronic and non-communicable diseases is far greater in women than men. For example, deaths due to communi-cable, maternal, neonatal and re-productive diseases in Indian wom-en were less compared to those by non-communicable and chronic diseases. Furthermore, there is a huge urban-rural divide in care de-livery to women. Socio-economic and cultural factors also play an important role - Indian women of-ten give more importance to ful-filling the nutritional and health requirements of their family than taking care of themselves. The staggering difference in preva-lence of anaemia among men and women in India stands testimony to this. On an average 22.7 percent of men are anaemic compared to 53 percent of women, as per the National Family Health Survey 2015-16. There is a dire need to have differentiated care delivery for women and this calls for more inclusiveness of women in clinical research and trials, product devel-opment and direct marketing. Femtech as an Enabler for Women's Health in IndiaFemtech involves the use of dig-ital health applications such as software, diagnostics, products, and services to improve women's health. Frost & Sullivan recogniz-es that continued engagement and self-management is core to man-aging women's health issues. Here are the top growth opportunities for Femtech identified by Frost & Sullivan that has potential to im-prove women's health in India.Improving AccessibilityDemographics and the urban-ru-ral divide often lead to inequitable access to care. Moreover, socio-cul-tural landscape in India has led to certain women's healthcare issues to be labelled as taboo subjects, especially issues concerning fer-tility, menstrual health, birth con-trol, and sexual wellness. Femtech companies can help overcome this disparity by providing affordable and accessible digital solutions. For instance, CareNX Innovations provides smartphone integrated point of care diagnostics accessi-ble to women in rural India using healthcare aid workers. Similar-ly, Celes Care is a women-centric GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FOR FEMTECH - WHAT IT MEANS FOR INDIA & THE GENDER DIVIDE?By Reenita Das (Senior Vice President & Partner) & Shruthi Parakkal (Consultant - Healthcare), Frost & SullivanFrost & Sullivan, the growth partnership company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.Reenita DasTHOUGHT LEADERSHIP
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