The discrepancy between what we know how to do and what we are able to do is especially poignant for women. It simply is not necessary for women in Thailand to die in childbirth or pregnancy at 13 times the rate of women in the United States, or for women in Indonesia to die at 30 times the rate here. We know a mother's death also puts her child at much greater risk. There are cultural issues, but money is crucial, too. In many developing countries, when national economies or family finances are tight, women's health, women's education, women's jobs, women's rights suffer.
Gains increase substantially with each additional year.
Yet, at a time of awakening promise for women in Africa and when Asia's economic troubles are exacerbating women's problems, we are faced with serious cuts in our ability to help. The proposed cuts also come at a crucial time for the environment. Maybe it sounds naive after so many years of involvement in foreign affairs, but I thought the devastating wildfires in Mexico and Central America would serve as a wake-up call about the importance of our environmental work. Those wildfires have destroyed millions of acres of some of the most bio-diverse lands in the world. That was perfectly appropriate.