Bollywood actress, producer, and UNFPA India’s honorary ambassador for gender equality, Kriti Sanon, made history at the World Health Summit (WHS) 2025 in Berlin as the first Indian celebrity to address the global forum.
Delivering a keynote at the high-level session, “Women’s Health – Global Wealth: Catalyzing Returns on Bold Investments,” Sanon urged world leaders to turn promises into tangible action and make women’s health a top global priority.
“Investing in women’s health is not just a moral imperative; it’s a strategic investment in our shared future,” she said, emphasizing that healthy women strengthen families, communities, and economies.
Sanon pointed out that despite women comprising half of the global population, their health remains chronically underfunded.
Citing UNFPA data, she noted that every $1 invested in women’s health can yield up to $9 in economic returns, and $300 million in funding could potentially generate $13 billion in gains.
Drawing from her experiences interacting with young women across India, Sanon spoke about child marriage, limited access to reproductive health services, and the resilience of women facing adversity.
She highlighted how organizations such as the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) play a transformative role in empowering women and girls worldwide.
The session, co-hosted by UNFPA, featured a high-level panel including Bärbel Kofler (parliamentary state secretary, BMZ, Germany), Felicitas Riedl (director, European Investment Bank), Dr Diene Keita (executive director, UNFPA), Hiroyuki Okuzawa (president & CEO, Daiichi Sankyo, Japan), and Budi Gunadi Sadikin (minister of health, Indonesia).
Participants discussed how strategic investments, blended finance, and cross-sector partnerships could accelerate innovation in women’s health and drive global progress.
