Posted on December 22, 2010
Start With a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health
Start With a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health
Focusing on the needs of adolescent girls in global health initiatives and policies would have a positive multiplier effect on development issues ranging from infant mortality to human rights, a new report from the Center for Global Development and the Coalition for Adolescent Girls argues. The report, Start With a Girl: A New Agenda for Global Health (116 pages, PDF), examines the social factors that affect the health of adolescent girls in developing countries, including a lack of reproductive health services, limited employment opportunities, and child marriage. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates and Nike foundations, the report finds that improving the health of girls directly boosts not only their families' and communities' health but also their economic and social development. The authors propose a comprehensive agenda focused on the unique needs of girls, including targeted HIV prevention and maternal health advocacy, elimination of child marriage, and secondary education.
|
