This publication reports on "Health for All Women in the 21st Century: How do we get there?," an intersectoral luncheon seminar honoring Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of the World Health Organization, and co-sponsored by the Global Alliance for Women's Health and the International Council of Women. The meeting was held on March 3, 1999 at the West Terrace of the United Nations Delegates' Dining Room. More than 170 invited guests from member states to the United Nations, the UN Secretariat, intergovernmental agencies, the international NGO community, academia, foundations, the private sector and the press participated.

The luncheon seminar was held during the 43rd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). Women and health was one of the major agenda items of this session. The CSW is mandated to follow up the Fourth World Conference on Women and to report its "agreed upon recommendations" to the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly.*

Dr. Brundtland gave the keynote address stressing the interface of women's health and development, and women's health and poverty. She underscored the importance of partnering across all sectors especially among political decision-makers. "This is a message [referring to the notion that investments in both women and girls' education, and health were positive for development] which needs to be brought to decision-makers." Dr. Brundtland continued categorically, "We need to reach Presidents, Prime Ministers and Finance Ministers and remind them that they are truly health ministers themselves."

Dr. Wanda Jones, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Women's Health, United States Department of Health and Human Services spoke on several mechanisms used in the United States for improving women's health. She described implementation policies, from adolescent health - the Girl Power Campaign - to the targeting of the health needs of minority women in National Centers of Excellence. But she also cited the need for the United States to address "the challenges of meeting the health needs of an increasingly older, more diverse and more female population."

Angela King, Assistant Secretary-General, United Nations and Director of the Division for the Advancement for Women spoke of the multiple access points for addressing women's health in the United Nations. In addition to the Commission on the Status of Women, she cited the monitoring bodies of the International Conference on Population and Development, the Convention for the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Human Rights Convention. In short, women's health issues are addressed in various commissions. She lauded NGOs for being on the front lines of advocacy at the UN but stressed a powerful reality - that when all is said and done, "governments bear the primary responsibility for the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action."

The luncheon achieved many of its goals. Among the most important, it brought together many of the sectors responsible for advancing women's health and it demonstrated to the larger constituency the widespread support that exists for addressing health for all women in expanded women's health policies. The participants' enthusiasm in honoring Dr. Brundtland and the good will were palpable. Indeed, the sponsors reported that many more NGOs wanted to attend the luncheon, but that regrettably their requests could not be accomodated because of space limitations.