World Bank’s “Investing in Health”: Healthy women are the cornerstone of healthy societies
Patricio Marquez, lead health specialist for the Global Tobacco Control Initiative at the World Bank, and Melanie Walker, senior adviser to the president and director of the World Bank Group’s Delivery Unit, discuss the role of investing in women and girls, writing, “Development experience has shown that deliberate policies and programmatic strategies aimed at nurturing women’s health and well-being across the life cycle are vital for realizing the full potential of women and girls. … Policies that help turn the tide against the feminization of poverty and toward enabling women to lead lives of sustainable economic advancement and self-reliance will at the same time improve the health and mental well-being of future generations, and contribute to ensure that development is socially and economically inclusive” (1/12).