Devex: Women’s health is everyone’s health
Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“…You don’t have to be an expert in global development to know that women and girls around the world still face gender-specific barriers to reaching their full potential. Nor should it come as a surprise that when women and girls are held back, the health and prosperity of their communities suffer, too. … A better future starts with ensuring that all women and girls everywhere receive the quality care they need from birth through adulthood — including mental health services and treatment of noncommunicable diseases — so that they are empowered to live healthy, productive lives. … Over the last two decades we have seen that incredible progress is possible. But progress in the aggregate doesn’t change the life or the future of a girl who is on the wrong side of those statistics. That girl is why I’m impatient — and the potential she already holds within her is why I’m optimistic” (4/2).