NEW YORK—The financial crisis that started in rich countries has deepened into a global crisis that threatens to reverse hard-won gains in education and health in developing countries, and women and children are among those hardest hit. That is why the theme of this year’s World Population Day, July 11, will focus on increased investments for girls and women to boost economic recovery and long-term equitable growth.

Even before the crisis, women and girls represented the majority of the world’s poor. Now they are falling deeper into poverty and face increased health risks, especially if they are pregnant.

Today, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading killers of women in the developing world. Some 200 million women who want to space their births do not have access to safe and effective contraception. And maternal mortality represents the world’s largest health inequity in the world. Ninety-nine percent of all maternal deaths occur in less-developed countries, taking the lives of more than half a million women each year. And this health gap, between rich and poor countries and within countries, will only deepen unless strong action is taken to increase social investment, maintain health gains and scale up responses to save the lives of more women.

Today, the world loses an estimated $15 billion in productivity every year because women and newborns die during pregnancy and childbirth. And most of these deaths could be prevented. Unlike disease, maternal death is not an ailment for which we need to find a cure.

There are proven interventions, and we know what works. In countries and communities where women have access to reproductive-health service—such as family planning, skilled attendance at birth, and emergency obstetric and neonatal care—survival rates are high and maternal and newborn deaths are rare.

Reproductive-health care, in particular family planning and maternal-health services, helps women and girls avoid unwanted or early pregnancy, unsafe abortions, as well as pregnancy-related disabilities.

This means that women stay healthier, are more productive, and have more opportunities for education, training and employment, which, in turn, benefits entire families, communities and nations.

Reproductive-health care also offers women and girls greater control over their own destinies and affords them opportunities to overcome poverty. By guaranteeing universal access to reproductive-health care, we can reduce the global burden of disease, improve gender equality and reduce poverty.

It is also true that investments in reproductive-health care are a bargain, especially when compared with recent financial bailouts. Each dollar invested in contraceptive services can save up to $4 in health expenditures and as much as $31 over the longterm in other social services, such as education, housing and sanitation. It is estimated that family planning alone could reduce the number of maternal deaths by as much as 40 percent.

Our world today is too complex and interconnected to consider problems in isolation. When a mother dies, when an orphan child does not get the food or education he needs, when a young girl grows up without opportunities, the consequences extend beyond the lives of these individuals. Society as a whole is diminished, and so are chances for peace, prosperity and stability.

In my travels around the world, I have seen how incredibly strong and resilient women are in times of crisis, and the lengths to which they will go to protect the health and well-being of their children. Not only do women hold families and communities together, they are also vital economic agents. In much of the developing world, women provide most of the agricultural labor and engage in small enterprises that help sustain economies.

The current crisis provides an opportunity to use the world’s resources, technology and knowledge to put people first, especially girls and women. 

I call on all leaders to make the health and rights of women a political and development priority.

Action now to protect the health and rights of women will set the stage not only for economic recovery, but also for economic growth that reduces inequity and poverty. There is no smarter investment in troubled times.

Thoraya Ahmed Obaid is the executive director of the United Nations Population Fund.