A New Agenda for Global Health: Focusing on the Health and Education of Adolescent Girls Will Lead to Enormous Benefits for Developing Countries and Will Accelerate the Achievement of Many International Health and Development Goals (Start with a Girl‪)‬

Much of the frustration that permeates efforts to improve the lives of people in the developing world springs from the fact that the commonly identified roots of the problem are factors that are difficult to change. But one fundamental cause of the social and economic hardships in the developing world can be addressed: the poor health and limited education of adolescent girls. As a partial glimpse into the hardships that girls face, consider the burdens of their older counterparts. Women's challenges take different forms across regions, countries, and socio-economic classes, although there are similarities, especially their exposure to discrimination, violence, and poverty. Women comprise two-thirds of the 759 million adults lacking basic literacy skills. Women's job options are more limited and less remunerated than those for men. More than half a million girls and women die in childbirth every year, often without the benefit of health services and skilled assistance. And all too often, women do not have a voice in the important decisions affecting their lives and those of their children, households, and communities.