Professor Amita Vyas Speaks to Senate Democratic Caucus on Global Empowerment of Women & Girls

On April 15, 2015, Amita Vyas, PhD, MHS, associate professor of prevention and community health and director of the Maternal and Child Health program at Milken Institute School of Public Health, was invited to speak before the Senate Democratic Caucus on education and economic empowerment of women and girls globally at the US Capitol. This roundtable discussion was designed to be a candid conversation and an opportunity to discuss solutions with Senators. The Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee serves as a liaison between Senate Democratic offices, advocacy groups and intergovernmental organizations. It is one of two Democratic Leadership Committees in the Senate and is chaired by Senator Amy Klobuchar (MN) and vice chaired by Senator Jeanne Shaheen (NH).  In her remarks Vyas stated, “I urge you to think of development dollars as defense spending. We know that the least stable parts of the world correlate directly with those places where girls and women are the most oppressed. We have a national security imperative to invest in girls’ health and education. And you all have the power to lead the way through bold US government commitments. On behalf of all my colleagues I urge you to look for opportunities to invest in more girls’ health and education projects.”