My question is why should we strive to make everyone equal? Perhaps, instead, women can apply their talents toward making a bigger impact on humanity by 'leaning in' and solving one complex problem, one community at a time.

Given the billions of aid dollars spent to improve the health systems of Africa, it may surprise you to learn that the majority of Africans still turn to the private sector for their health care. Not because the private sector provides cheaper prices. But rather, for many, it remains the only option.

Whether a woman is a mother today, or a mother to be, her health is paramount -- both for her own productivity and quality of life, and that of the next generation. One way that we can help to support women -- and their children -- is by ensuring that all mothers receive the essential health services they need, including for HIV.

May is the month when we celebrate our mothers. For Fatoumata, a mother in Guinea, she is celebrating a brand new life. Recently, she was lifted from ...

While their circumstances are all very different, one theme has been present in every country I've visited -- the undeniable role nurses play in maintaining the health and well-being of their communities.

There are disparities in health within countries, including in the U.S. For instance, there are disparities in obesity within the U.S., whereby black and Hispanic children and adolescents, have a substantially higher prevalence of obesity than their white peers.

It may seem hard to imagine, but one out of every three people in the world today does not have access to a decent toilet. Instead, many people in poor countries are left with no choice but to relieve themselves in open spaces, rivers or fields that drain into de facto local water sources.

Newborn health was the topic of a global conversation last week, as you no doubt know if you’ve been following along on Impatient Optimists. In ...

Good drug policy is good AIDS policy. Drug users and sex workers benefit more from services than from beatings and prison. And as law enforcement officials committed to protecting the public, we can support public health.

Recently, I toured a health clinic in India and met a girl named Anju. Anju's family is poor. They live far away in a remote village that has no running water or health care. Although Anju is only 14, her parents expect her to marry and start having children soon.

"We have science fiction, and science follows it. We imagine it, and it comes true. Yet we don't have social fiction, so nothing changes." When Muhammad Yunus made this statement at the recent Skoll World Forum, there was a sense that this was a quotation we'd see repeated for years.

Today, 2.5 billion people don't have access to toilets. Investing in sanitation leads to healthier people and stronger communities. The Bill & Mel...

In the Garifuna communities of Honduras, it's an act of courage to admit to being HIV positive. With a grant from the Pulitzer Center, photographer David Rochkind and I interviewed people who overcame fear and discrimination to go public with their diagnosis and help educate others.

One Day Without Shoes is the annual day to encourage the world to go without shoes to bring global awareness to children's health and education. It is about walking with dignity and it is about opportunities to improve children's health.

When it comes to working in unorganized environments, a flexible framework with a certain amount of latitude is critical. This is how we draw our strategies. We work our way up from the bottom.

Surgery and many other basic health care interventions require sterile medical equipment and trained people to carry it out. Currently, there is no readily available, practical sterilization method in the developing world.