Fighting NTDs has greater effect of empowering women

"As Melinda Gates captured through her [blog] piece by envisioning the conversation of women's role in the year 2030, I would also like to offer my voice in the spirit of conversation," Mawish Raza, a communications intern with the Global Network for Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), writes in the network's "End the Neglect" blog, adding, "My hope is that by 2030, women are not only given the advantage to circumvent neglected and un-neglected diseases, but that they are able to make better use of their restored health to drive their communities out of poverty and forward into progress." She continues, "While working to bring an end to NTDs may be a goal aimed at abridging [Millennium Development Goal 6], it continues to carry significant weight over achieving the end of poverty and improving global health, sustainable environments, gender equality, universal education and global partnerships" (2/6).