Empowering Women and Improving Female Reproductive Health through Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases 英文参考文献.docVIP

Editorial EmpoweringWomenandImprovingFemale ReproductiveHealththroughControlofNeglected TropicalDiseases PeterJ.Hotez1,2 * 1Department ofMicrobiology, Immunology,andTropicalMedicine,TheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity, Washington, D.C.,United StatesofAmerica, 2SabinVaccine Institute,Washington,D.C.,UnitedStatesofAmerica SecretaryHillaryClintonhasmadethe rightsofwomen,especiallythoselivingin low-income countries, a central theme of her tenure at the United States Depart- ment of State. During her recent 11-day trip to sub-Saharan Africa, issues of gender equality and empowering women arguablyhadtheirhighestprofileever[1], and there is a clear commitment by both theSecretaryandtheObamaadministra- tiontoworkaggressivelytowardachieving the two major Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) that specifically advocate for women, namely MDG 3 ‘‘Promote gender equality and empower women’’ and MDG 5 ‘‘Improve maternal health’’ (see /millenniumgoals). Because the neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are the most common infections among the world’s poorest people [2], includinggirlsandwomen,thereisnowa strongcasetobemadeforcontrollingthe NTDs as a means of directly addressing MDG 3 and MDG 5. Studies conducted over the last two decades provide an evidencebasethattheNTDsareimportant factorsthat(i)impairreproductivehealthin developingcountries;(ii)increasethetrans- mission of sexually transmitted infections (STIs);and(iii)promotestigmaandgender inequality (Table 1). For these reasons, interventionsfocusedonNTDcontroland elimination could offer an opportunity forimprovingthehealthandrightsofgirls and women in the poorest countries of Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. ofirontoaccommodateanincreaseinred bloodcellmass,orlactation,inwhicheach episode transfers 0.75mg of iron from mother to child [3]. Moreover, even before she becomes pregnant, a woman ofchildbearingagesufferssubstantialiron losses from menstruation [3]. Anemia, defined as a reduction in hemoglobin t