LETTER

Healthy women are good for the economy

 

Never in Canadian history have we had so many women in powerful positions in our government. Two, Minister of International Development Marie-Claude Bibeau and MP Michelle Rempel, are about to represent Canada at the 4th Annual Women Deliver Conference this week in Copenhagen. My hope is that these two women will speak up loudly for the world’s poorest women in developing countries, over 100,000 of whom still die in childbirth every year, largely because they are malnourished. How shameful is that?  

It’s well-known that healthy communities start with healthy mothers and children. These women are more likely to have fewer children that grow up to do better in school and get better paying jobs. Quite simply, healthy women are good for any country’s economy.  My hope is that Minister Bibeau and Ms. Rempel seize this opportunity to make donor countries aware that the best investment they, and we, can make in developing countries is to improve the health of women. When we invest in women and girls, we all win.

 

Paulie Duhaime
Calgary, Alberta