Huffington Post: Women, Girls, and Global Goals: Why Ensuring Women’s and Girls’ Health and Rights Is Crucial to Achieving the SDGs
Ariel Pablos-Mendez, assistant administrator for global health and child and maternal survival coordinator at USAID, and Elizabeth Fox, USAID deputy maternal and child survival coordinator and director of the Office of Health, Infectious Diseases, and Nutrition

“This week, international leaders from all sectors of society convene in Copenhagen for the Women Deliver 2016 Conference. There, they will discuss how we as a global community can implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) … so that they are especially meaningful for women and girls, with a particular emphasis on women’s and girls’ health and rights. … At the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), our efforts in maternal and child health are improving health outcomes for mothers and their children in countries around the world. … [W]hen we invest in women’s health and rights, we invest in much more than that: we invest in global goals from education to the environment, from peaceful societies to prosperous economies. … At the heart of USAID is our mission to end extreme poverty and to promote resilient, democratic societies. With such broad benefits across the board, women’s health is one of the smartest investments that we can make…” (5/13).