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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE				
Monday, Nov. 23, 1998						   
Contact:  Carol Krause,  Office on Women's Health   (202) 690-7650

The Department of Health and Human Services announced today that it will convene a bi-national conference on women's health in Jerusalem, Israel, to discuss and exchange information on a range of global health topics that cover the life span of women. The first "Bi-National Israel-U.S. Conference on Women's Health: Promoting Health Across the Generations," will be held Dec. 2-3. Hundreds of women's health leaders from the two nations will discuss such common issues as breast cancer, heart disease, working women's health, and prevention strategies for adolescent risky behaviors.

The conference will be convened by HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala and Israeli Minister of Health Yeshoua Matza. Both will be in attendance at the conference and will provide keynote addresses on Dec. 2. Welcoming remarks will be given by First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton by videotape. Some 75 delegates and 300 participants are expected, of whom 32 delegates and approximately 50 attendees will be from the United States.

"Women's health issues have no geographical or political boundaries," said Secretary Shalala. "This conference is a continuation of our commitment to advance the health of women at home and around the world, and will strengthen the bond of friendship we already feel for the women of Israel."

The conference will allow for an exchange of information about each country's programs and policies, identify shared interests and activities, examine health challenges for women, and highlight future opportunities for the mutual advancement of women's health.

The first day of the conference will be a public event that focuses on enhancing the visibility of women's health issues in Israel. Speakers from both Israel and the United States will provide an overview of numerous women's health issues.

The second day of the conference will feature workshops devoted to women's health throughout the life cycle and will include presentations by experts in the field from both Israel and the United States. The three workshop focus areas are: Girls/Young Women, Adult Women, and Senior Women. Each workshop will be co-chaired by an Israeli and a U.S. representative and will address issues of prevention, research and service delivery. Members of the workshops will be charged with identifying broad priority areas and strategies that will improve the health of women in Israel and the United States.

Last year, Israeli Minister of Health Matza visited the United States and met with Secretary Shalala. Among the goals of Minister Matza's visit was to learn how women's health issues are incorporated into HHS since there is no such institutional focus in Israel.

"We are delighted that we can share the history and successes of our national focus on women's health," said Wanda Jones, Dr. P.H., deputy assistant secretary for health, and a plenary speaker for the bi-national conference. "In turn, we know there is much we can learn from the collective strength and political activism of the women of Israel."

Joining Dr. Jones as plenary speakers on Dec 2 will be Nelba Chavez, Ph.D., administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Joan Leiman, M.D., executive director of the Commonwealth Fund's Commission on Women's Health. Dr. Leiman will report for the first time preliminary findings from two contemporaneous national surveys on health and mental health issues, access to health care, physician care, counseling and preventive care, women's caregiving responsibilities, and women's exposure to violence and domestic battering. Additional welcoming remarks will be provided by Ambassador Edward Walker, U.S. conference Co-Chair Susan Wood, Ph.D., and Vivian Pinn, M.D., Associate Director for Research on Women's Health, National Institutes of Health.

The conference is being coordinated by the U.S. Public Health Service's Office on Women's Health in the Department of Health and Human Services. This office provides national leadership in advancing women's health in policy, research, service delivery and education. The office serves as a catalyst for developing international, national, and regional initiatives to improve women's health.

Note: HHS press releases are available on the World Wide Web at: www.hhs.gov.