The Hill: Better health for poor women and children will strengthen global security
Gary L. Gottlieb, CEO of Partners In Health

“The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) recently released its third annual Acting on the Call report. It details the progress that is being made to improve maternal and child health in 24 priority countries. For the first time, this year’s report focuses on the poorest 40 percent of the world’s population. … The USAID vision is critical because attention to the needs of the poorest of the poor, and especially women and children, is humane and moral, and it is key to global stability. … At Partners In Health, we applaud USAID’s focus on the very poorest populations and on women and children. As we know too well, social injustice and care disparities cause the greatest suffering and misery; the opportunity for breathtaking improvements is at our fingertips. … We not only can deliver first-world health services to women and children, we must do so. Global health is key to global order and security. In a world increasingly concerned about the contagion of disorder and chaos, USAID has outlined a path to a safer, more secure future for everyone” (7/26).