Women, girls central to global health, development agendas

Feb 5 2013

Noting the U.N. Millennium Development Goals created in 2000 and the process to determine development goals for 2030, Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, writes in the foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog, "[W]e have seen the importance of investing in women and girls and keeping them at the center of the global health and development agenda. Empowering women and girls -- through health services, education, and economic opportunities -- to reach their full potential is critical to achieving meaningful and sustainable change. Making these investments will dramatically affect the story we tell 15 years from now." She continues, "For my part, I hope that in 2030, women and girls will have no limits on their aspirations for the future, no matter where they are born," and she urges people to share their hopes at www.myhope2030.com (2/1).