Menopause: A Silent Revolution for African Women's Health

In gynecology consultations in Dakar, Abidjan, and Nairobi, a word is just beginning to cross patients' lips: menopause. Long relegated to the realm of family secrets or natural inevitability, this stage of a woman's life is now emerging as a burning social issue. Because beyond hot flashes, insomnia, or mood swings, it is women's hearts that are on the front line. Recent studies confirm it: the drop in estrogen increases cardiovascular risks. And in Africa, where life expectancy is rising, millions of women enter this phase without information, without support, and often without appropriate medical follow-up. For decades, menopause has been a taboo, buried under the weight of traditions and prejudices. In many African societies, the menopausal woman is seen as having completed her reproductive role, which sometimes grants her an ambiguous social status: respected as an elder, but pushed to the margins of feminine vitality. This silence has come at a high health cost. Symptoms are trivialized, hormone treatments are virtually nonexistent, and cardiovascular diseases – the leading cause of death among women over 50 – remain largely underdiagnosed. Yet a silent revolution is underway. African women doctors, researchers, and activists are breaking the taboo. In Senegal, the Women's Association for Cardiovascular Health organizes screening campaigns in markets and mosques. In Kenya, radio programs in Swahili demystify symptoms and encourage consultations. In Nigeria, mobile clini