Courage and Commitment: Investing in Girls for A Brighter Future

In celebration of International Women’s Day (March 10), Nafsiah Mboi, M.D., chairman of the board at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, wrote a moving  piece urging the international community to recognize that gender equality is essential to achieving global health goals throughout the world.

“Gender and public health are two branches of the same tree,” Dr. Mboi said. “In many societies, women and young girls do not enjoy the same access to health as men, let alone the same rights or opportunities. But a society that does not cure and treat its women and young girls with love and care and with equality will never be a healthy society.

“If we embrace and champion the principles of gender awareness we will be more effective as agents of change, we ourselves will be empowered anew, and that will support empowerment of our partners for their health and enjoyment of fuller lives.”

Be sure to read the full text of Dr. Mobi’s essay on the Global Fund website.