Mandy Moore believes investing money into women’s health “makes good sense” for the economy.
The 31-year-old singer-and-actress is also a global ambassador for Population Services International (PSI).
And during a recent visit as part of her work with the non-profit, Mandy found herself in India.
“I woke up in India’s capital of Delhi and piled into a car for an hour’s drive down unpaved muddy roads, through crowded streets where stagnant sewage water filled the lanes between buildings and houses,” she wrote in a post on the website for advocacy organisation ONE. “We arrived in the town of Patna, in Bihar, and were greeted by a dozen or so women with extremely limited resources. Yet, they had joined together to get microloans to buy toilets for their homes and community.
“Investing in smart solutions to improve the health and rights of women makes good sense from a health and economic standpoint.”
Mandy went on to explain most women spend money on ensuring their community is also taken care of.
And for this reason the entertainer believes it is imperative to fund women’s initiatives all around the world.
“A healthy, educated woman reinvests 90 percent of her income in her family and community compared to only 35 percent for a man,” she explained. “Each additional year of secondary school can increase a woman’s earnings by 10 to 20 percent, and that increase yields real profits for the countries they live in. When 10 percent more women in a country complete secondary education, the country’s annual per capita income grows by 3 percent.”
Mandy noted according to statistics investment into charities focused on feminine issues is minimal in comparison to money received by other philanthropic organisations.
“Only two cents of every development dollar goes to support programmes for girls,” she detailed. “As a result, services they need, such as family planning and screening for cervical cancer or gender-based violence, are limited in poor countries, and investment levels do not come close to meeting demand.
“No business would sacrifice its best asset and neither should we. Investing in women and girls makes sense. When the world’s mothers, sisters and daughters can reach their true potential, we all do. And, we profit.”
