The Hill: Empower girls, change the world
Gayatri Patel, senior policy advocate for gender and empowerment at CARE USA; Helena Minchew, program officer for U.S. foreign policy and advocacy at International Women’s Health Coalition (IWHC); Lyric Thompson, director of policy and advocacy at the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW); and Rachel Clement, policy associate at the ICRW; all co-chairs of Girls Not Brides USA

“…Congress showing support is critical to ensuring that girls are not forgotten in U.S. foreign assistance. Programs and policies that support adolescent girls give them the opportunity to lead empowered lives and successfully transition into healthy, safe, and successful adulthoods. Additionally, evidence shows that investments in girls return yields in areas such as economic growth and health for families and communities. … Attention from Congress and the [U.S. Global Strategy to Empower Adolescent Girls] have proven that empowering adolescent girls can and should be a bipartisan effort. The strategy builds on and incorporates efforts from both the Bush and Obama administrations by including PEPFAR programming, such as the DREAMS initiative and Let Girls Learn. This strategy, and the cross-cutting initiatives it includes, must be fully funded and implemented by the Trump administration in order to meet girls’ needs and ensure their rights. This is the right thing to do and the smart thing to do” (10/11).