A landmark report released this week shows Australian women’s health is declining across several key measures – including basic needs and emotional health. The Hologic Global Women’s Health Index is the world’s most comprehensive annual survey tracking women's health and wellbeing, covering 97% of the world’s adult population.

Now in its fifth year, the report shows women facing mounting challenges and setbacks, while several Australian outcomes are declining despite growing investment and conversation around women’s health.

Today, we’ll unpack the findings and what they mean.

The Global Women’s Health Index is considered one of the biggest studies of its kind. Nearly 145,000 people across 144 countries and territories were surveyed in 140 languages for the latest report. It tracks women’s health across five dimensions: Preventive Care, Emotional Health, Individual Health, Basic Needs and Opinions of Health and Safety.

Its goal is to give decision-makers, researchers and advocates an up-to-date, comprehensive data set on women’s health and wellbeing worldwide.

The report came about because researchers “believe that women’s health was being under-measured globally,” Hologic Global Women’s Health Index spokesperson Aggie Cox told TDA.

Cox, who has worked in frontline emergency and trauma care as a registered nurse, said, “the better data that we have, we hope that will drive better health policy, investment, and outcomes for women and girls around the globe.”

Australia scored above the global average with 59 out of 100, but ranked behind several neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan (66), Singapore (65), and South Korea (63). The U.S. also outperformed Australia, with a score of 64.

Australia’s score remains at its lowest recorded level in the Index’s five-year history, unchanged from last year. So, why?

The report’s findings paint a mixed picture.

While Australia ranked above the average, 52% of Australian women reported experiencing stress for much of the previous day when surveyed, and 41% reported feeling worried.

“This was very much a concern because we’ve seen a continued decline over the years,” Cox said. “Most importantly to note was that our stress levels at 52% were actually far beyond the global average of 38%.”

Cox points to cost-of-living pressures as a major driver of emotional distress. Australia’s Basic Needs score has fallen from 92 in Year 1 of the Index to 84 in Year 5, marking one of the steepest declines across all categories. More than one in five Australian women reported struggling to afford food in the past year, and one in nine struggled to afford shelter.

“It’s not just one area that is declining and can be causing stress,” Cox said. “There’s lots of social, economic, and physical areas that can be adding to this increase in stress score.”

There’s been a groundswell of investment in women’s health in recent years, but Cox questions whether it is translating into lived experiences. “That’s really what we need to be measuring.”

More than one in three Australian women reported experiencing daily physical pain, and the Index shows the “dial has not yet moved,” despite growing public conversation about women’s pain.

“We definitely need to give it some more time. The hope is that as we continue to gather more data, now that we have more of a focus on pain, is that we [will] see a shift for women,” Cox noted.

Safety is one of the few areas to improve globally, with a record 67% of women worldwide now reporting that they feel safe walking alone at night.

However, almost half of Australian women still don’t. Australia also recorded one of the largest gaps in the world between how safe men and women feel walking alone at night.

“I have to say that I’m one of those women who thinks twice about walking alone at night in her community,” Cox told TDA. “I have made decisions of possibly not attending events... based on having to be somewhere alone at night,” she added.

Drawing on her experience in health leadership, clinical care and as a frontline worker, Cox said she has developed “a different lens with the way I’m able to look at this data and think about women and their care”.

She describes women’s health reporting and research as an area she is passionate about and hopes the report and subsequent discussion “will make a difference for women’s lived experience.”

She's also candid about why normalising these conversations matters.

“I myself am in the midst of menopause, and having a supportive husband, having a supportive workplace has made an incredible difference… It’s critical that we continue to have these conversations, so that women aren’t embarrassed to seek treatment.”

Globally, no country scored above 69 out of 100, meaning even the wealthiest nations have a long way to go. Cox hopes reports like this eventually make themselves redundant.

“It’d be lovely if we stop talking about women’s health and having the need for a strategy because it became part of the norm, part of just health,” she said.

Booking your flights and accommodation separately for every trip can feel like assembling a puzzle.

That's where Virgin Australia Holidays comes in. Book your flights and hotel together in one transaction, with sales now live to Bali, Brisbane, Cairns and more. Think return flights from Melbourne to Bali plus 4 nights' accommodation from $655pp.

Velocity members also earn double Status Credits on every holiday package booked before 27 July, on top of up to 4.5 Points per $1 spent.