afrol News, 24 September - Millions of girls and women will have access to improved health care, better education, and increased economic opportunity, thanks to the new commitments made at the Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), which brings together leaders from across sectors of society to identify solutions to some of the world's most pressing problems.

"Women perform 66 percent of the world's work, and produce 50 percent of the food, yet earn only 10 percent of the income and own 1 percent of the property," said former president Bill Clinton said. "Whether the issue is improving education in the developing world, or fighting global climate change, or addressing nearly any other challenge we face, empowering women is a critical part of the equation," he added.

Reports show that when women and girls are empowered, entire regions see measurable results. This is especially true for economic empowerment - for example, a woman is likely to reinvest about 90 percent of her earnings into her family's well-being, compared with 35 percent for a man. Increases in access to education among girls accounted for a decline of 43 percent in the malnutrition rates between 1970 and 1995. Investing in women's health, especially reproductive health, not only saves the lives of half a million mothers, but also unleashes an estimated $15 billion in productivity each year.

Even in the developed world, decreases in inequality can improve overall productivity. Goldman Sachs has reported that different countries and regions of the world could dramatically increase GDP simply by reducing the gap in employment rates between men and women: the Eurozone could increase GDP by 13 percent; Japan by 16 percent; the U.S. by 9 percent.

This year, the CGI Annual Meeting will feature a variety of special programming related to girls and women.

During the session, corporations, foundations, and NGOs announced more than a dozen new commitments that will improve the lives of girls and women around the world.

Commitments announced include work to prevent cervical cancer, girls' education, health and hygiene education, through sustainable, locally-led businesses, for one million girls and women in Africa by 2012, training girls from Ghana in media production and journalism skills, as a way of empowering the girls to advocate against gender discrimination through diverse media and other empowering projects in countries such as Rwanda.

The Fifth Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative ends tomorrow.

Established in 2005 by President Bill Clinton, the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) brings together a community of global leaders to devise and implement innovative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. Since 2005, CGI Annual Meetings have brought together more than 100 current and former heads of state, 10 of the last 16 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations, major philanthropists, directors of the most effective nongovernmental organisations, and prominent members of the media. The CGI members have made more than 1,400 commitments valued at $46 billion, to improve the lives of more than 200 million people in more than 170 countries.

By staff writer

© afrol News

Tweet

Printable version

On the Afrol News front page now

UN will not monitor human rights in Western Sahara afrol News - The US has backed down on its demand that UN peacekeepers in Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara also shall monitor the human rights situation after Moroccan sources threatened to scale down relations with Washington. Read more

Central African Republic

Central African Republic falling apart afrol News - One month after the rebel movement Séléka took over power in the Central African Republic, unrest is spreading in the country. The new leader lacks control of his forces, which continue looting and abusing civilians. Read more

Kenya

Kenyatta secures tight victory in Kenya afrol News - The official election results in Kenya have finally been announced, and Uhuru Kenyatta managed to win the first poll round outright with a narrow 50.7 percent. But the main opponent, PM Raila Odinga, is filing a vote rigging complaint to the courts. Read more

Cape Verde Cape Verde to produce dragon fruit afrol News - Cape Verde authorities have invested large sums to diversify the arid country's agricultural sector. Now, the dragon fruit, originating in tropical America, is being introduced for the first commercial production in Africa. Read more

Egypt Even governors in Pharaonic Egypt died in their 20s afrol News - Researchers have analysed more than 200 mummies from ancient Egypt, finding that even high dignitaries were poorly nourished and had infectious diseases. The typical governor in Pharaonic Egypt died before he was 30 years old. Read more