Posts Tagged ‘international women’s day’

The Maternal Health Task Force feature NTDs

March 9th, 2011

In honor of International Women’s Day yesterday, The Maternal Health Task Force (MHTF) compiled a list a submissions on maternal and child health and global health from their partner organizations. Below is the Global Network’s submission, along with a link to the original post:

“Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) disproportionately affect the world’s most marginalized people and are linked to cyclical poverty. NTD control programs decrease morbidity and mortality especially among women and their children by reducing anemia and malnutrition, which represent 35 percent of the global disease burden in children under 5. Improving women’s health breaks this cycle of poverty through safe pregnancies, healthy and educated children, and strengthened communities. The Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases is working hard to reduce the impact of NTDs on women and communities through advocacy initiatives aimed at fostering support for control and eradication efforts worldwide.”

Click here to read the full post and read posts from MHTF’s other partners.

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Posted in Maternal Health

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Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities

March 8th, 2010

Today, March 8, 2010 marks International Women’s Day, a day when women are recognized for their achievements without regard to divisions, whether national, ethnic, linguistic, cultural, economic or political. This years’ theme “Equal rights, Equal opportunities,” is a stark reminder of the unfinished agenda of giving women their rightful place at the table.  So as we reflect and commemorate this important day, we should take a critical look ahead at the opportunities that await future generations of women, opportunities to give women an equal voice and choice.

Interventions focused on neglected tropical disease (NTD) control and elimination could offer an opportunity for improving the health and rights of girls and women in the poorest countries of world. In his paper, Empowering Women and Improving Female Reproductive Health through Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases , Dr. Peter Hotez explains the devastating effects that NTDs have on women and girls in developing countries, by impairing reproductive health, increasing the transmission of sexually transmitted infections and promoting stigma and gender inequality.

The suffering that women and girls infected with NTDS is reflected best in the words of WHO Director-General who said “imagine the impact when a young woman with leprosy is told she can be fully cured, can marry, have children, and will not infect others. Just imagine the impact”  

So today, as we recognize the incredible women of the world who, despite all odds, have overcome  many obstacles to make it possible for us to celebrate this day, let us also use it as a call to action. We’re keeping our eyes locked on the future, when NTDs and other diseases that perpetuate gender inequality will be nothing but a thing of the past.

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Posted in Global Development, Global Health, Haiti, Latin America and the Caribbean, NTDs, Obama Administration, policy, Public Health, reading list, Uncategorized

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