U.S.-Afghan Women's Council Launches Health Initiative to Help Afghan Women Secure a Better Future

The U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council held the first meeting of the newly formed Health Advisory Committee on July 26, 2004 at the U.S. Department of State. The Committee, comprised of leaders in government, medicine and other health-related fields, will seek to match public and private sector resources with health needs on the ground in Afghanistan, particularly for Afghan women and children.

Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky, co-chair of the U.S.-Afghan Women’s Council, hosted the planning meeting. The Council’s goals since its inception in January 2002 are to secure access for Afghan women to health care, to education and to the political and economic sectors. Access to education and health care are prerequisites to any progress for Afghan women. To help reduce maternal and infant mortality rates, the U.S. has built hundreds of clinics throughout the country, inoculated millions of children, and launched a formal training program for rural midwives. See www.state.gov/g/wi for project descriptions.

About the Health Advisory Committee: Margaret Spellings, Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, chairs this committee. Committee members include Dr. Julie Gerberding (Centers for Disease Control), Jeffrey Gloss and Linda Gloss (Carelift International), Dr. Peter Grossman (Grossman Burn Center, Sherman Oaks Hospital) James Kunder (U.S. Agency for International Development), Dr. Lee Morin (State Department, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs), Dr. William Steiger and Dr. Howard Zucker (Department of Health and Human Services), and Nazanin Samari-Kermani (White House Fellow).

For further information, please contact Susan Hovanec, Office of International Women's Issues, at (202) 312-9675.

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