Resolutions

_{Resolution Shortlist for 2024/2024}

Information is available on the MYWI website with more information for your WI to discuss prior to voting.

1. Let’s talk about incontinence

It is estimated that 14 million people in the UK of all ages are suffering with bladder problems, and a further 6.5 million with bowel problems. However, it is still a subject that is misunderstood and very hard to talk about. We call upon the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Wales’s Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care to examine in detail all areas of health and wellbeing that are affected by incontinence issues. We call for the government to commit to an up-to-date audit to provide a national picture of incontinence care, offering a baseline from which to drive improved services. We call upon the members of the WI to raise public awareness, remove the stigma around incontinence, to help reduce the significant impact on people’s lives.

2. Bystanders can be lifesavers 

There are over 30,000 out of hospital cardiac arrests a year in the UK, and less than one in ten people survive. Women have a lower chance of surviving than men. Early cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and defibrillating can more than double the chances of survival. We call on WI members to work together to increase public confidence and training in the delivery of CPR and to work with local organisations to help to improve access to defibrillators in their communities to give every person the best chance of surviving a cardiac arrest. We call on the Government ensure all schools follow the mandatory CPR training together with training in the use of defibrillators.

3. Join the repair revolution 

There is a huge excess in clothing production which has devastating consequences for the environment. The WI calls on the UK Government to join the repair revolution and strengthen the law and investment to support a circular economy of clothing and fabrics in the UK, where repair and reuse is achievable, accessible, and affordable to all. We also call on WI members to promote clothing reuse and repair in their communities.

4. Eliminate landfill of medication packaging 

Medication packaging, due to its complexity, is not routinely recyclable through local authority collections, usually leading to disposal in landfills. We call on the WI to proactively raise awareness by encouraging additional collection points where empty packaging can be easily returned for recycling. Furthermore, we call on manufacturing companies to acknowledge their moral responsibility to reduce their environmental impact by exploring simpler packaging alternatives that are easier to recycle or have less impact on the environment. These steps can significantly improve recycling rates to move towards eliminating landfill.

_{Resolution Selected for 2024}

At the annual meeting in June the resolution was passed with a majority of over 99.5%  and has now become a mandate.

Dental Health Matters
There is a chronic shortage of NHS Dentists and people are suffering health issues as a result. The NFWI calls on the Government to increase investment in the training and retention of dentists and to review the current inadequate NHS contracts in order to ensure everyone can access an NHS dentist wherever they live.

Members are now encouraged to take part in this campaign and more information can be found on My WI.

************************************************************************

_{Resolution Selected for 2023}

At the annual meeting in May the resolution was passed with a majority of 84%  and has now become a mandate.

The wording of the resolution is as follows:

Water quality in our rivers is shameful. Legally, designated bathing waters must be regularly monitored for pollution. The NFWI urges its members, the wider public, local authorities and Government to make, support and promote applications for official designated bathing sites on appropriate stretches of rivers in their area. This will be as instrumental to the clean up of rivers as it has been for water quality improvement at coastal beaches.

Members are now encouraged to take part in this campaign and more information can be found on My WI.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_{Resolution Selected for 2022}

From November 2021 to February 2022 members had the opportunity to consider which of the five shortlisted resolutions they most favoured.  Women and Girls with ASD and ADHD Under-Identified, Under-Diagnosed and Under-Supported received the most selections throughout the country.  
The resolution was then passed at the NFWI Annual Meeting and has become a mandate.

The wording of the resolution is:

Women and Girls with ASD & ADHD - under-identified, under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed, under-supported

Women and girls presenting with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are going undiagnosed. The NFWI calls on the government and funding bodies to fund research into the female presentation of ASD and ADHD, and for action to be taken to improve the diagnosis process for women and girls, to ensure that they are equipped to better manage these conditions and do not suffer in silence.  The NFWI further calls on WI members to raise awareness within their WIs of the issues facing women and girls with ASD and ADHD.

Resolution Selected for 2021

1. A call to increase awareness of the subtle signs of ovarian cancer

Every two hours in the UK someone dies of ovarian cancer. Making sure GPs and the public know what to look for will not only ensure the early detection and treatment of this disease, but transform lives today and for generations to come. NFWI calls on WI members everywhere to help increase awareness of the subtle signs of ovarian cancer.

This resolution was passed with a majority of 99.48%.  This means the resolution is now an NFWI mandate and will form the basis of a national WI campaign which all members are invited to work on.

What happens next?
The NFWI Public Affairs Department will be producing a full campaign action pack with ideas and resources that you can use to take the campaign forward. This will be available on the NFWI website and My WI when it is ready.