International Women's Day – March 8th
Investing in People
Landmine victim Elisabeth Nassalan opened a business in Senegal with USAID help.
Photo: Richard Nyberg / USAID
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“No society can prosper when half of its population is not allowed to contribute to its progress. Educated and empowered women are vital to democracy—and important for the development of all countries.”
— U.S. First Lady Laura Bush
Women’s health and education are keys to increasing the health of their children, decreasing health care costs and improving productivity. Educating girls and women is a powerful investment in poverty reduction.The payoff:elimination of inequalities and improved well-being for families, communities and nations.
Educating girls also results in reduced birth rates, higher education levels for their children, increased agricultural productivity
and higher family incomes. USAID partners with governments and stakeholders—including teachers, policymakers, the private sector and NGOs—to encourage parents to send their girls to school and to empower schools to retain girls through graduation.
USAID supported vaccination of Iraqi children against polio, measles, mumps and rubella.
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HIV/AIDS is a major threat to the investments made in developing countries. Every day 6,000 young people aged 15 to 24 become infected with HIV, of which two-thirds are young women. USAID supports activities that address the economic, social and cultural factors that make women and girls more vulnerable than men to this global pandemic.
As a society is only as strong as its weakest member, USAID assists special populations that may be at risk temporarily
or on a chronic basis: people with disabilities; orphans and young people; victims of gender-based violence; refugees; female heads of households; and those affected by HIV/AIDS.
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