1. 梅琳達：正是拯救兒童生命這一目標開啟了我們的全球工作。雖然拯救兒童生命本身就是目的，但我們之後了解到這樣做也能帶來其他方麵的好處。如果父母堅信他們的孩子能夠存活——如果他們有能力計劃懷孕時間和安排懷孕間隔——那麽他們就會選擇少生孩子。
Melinda: Saving children’s lives is the goal that launched our global work. It’s an end in itself. But then we learned it has all these other benefits as well. If parents believe their children will survive—and if they have the power to time and space their pregnancies—they choose to have fewer children.
比爾：當一位母親可以選擇生育孩子的數量時，她的子女就會更健康，獲得更多營養，心智能力也會更高——父母也會有更多的時間和財力花在每位子女的健康和學業方麵。這樣家庭和國家才能脫貧。挽救生命、更低的出生率和終結貧困之間的這種關係是我和梅琳達在全球健康方麵所獲得的最重要的一個早期經驗。
Bill: When a mother can choose how many children to have, her children are healthier, they’re better nourished, their mental capacities are higher—and parents have more time and money to spend on each child’s health and schooling. That’s how families and countries get out of poverty. This link between saving lives, a lower birthrate, and ending poverty was the most important early lesson Melinda and I learned about global health.
2. 比爾：當女性獲得與男性同等的機遇，家庭和社會就會欣欣向榮。性別平等無疑會釋放女性的潛能，但其實這也會釋放男性的潛能。性別平等可以解放男性，使他們能夠與女性成為平等的夥伴，從而受益於女性的才智、堅韌和創意，而不是將精力浪費在打壓女性的這些天賦上。
Bill: When women have the same opportunities as men, families and societies thrive. Obviously, gender equity unleashes women’s potential, but it also unleashes men’s potential. It frees them to work as partners with women, so they can get the benefits of a woman’s intelligence, toughness, and creativity instead of wasting their energy trying to suppress those gifts.
3. 比爾：梅琳達和我一次又一次地發現社會的變革源於人們之間的交流——這正是女性團體的神奇之處。如果你去一個村裏觀察，很難看到男性團體中的所有成員之間互相分享信息。通常情況是村裏有一位最大的領導、還有幾位服務該領導的幕僚以及一群在這幾位幕僚手下工作的人。這種等級製度扼殺了交流，讓人們無法談論真正重要的事。女性團體就沒有這種阻礙，所以她們更擅長傳播信息，推動變革。
Bill: Melinda and I have seen over and over again that social change comes when people start talking to each other—and that’s the magic of women’s groups. If you go out in the village, you’re rarely going to find a men's group where they all share information. You’ll find a big man of the village, and the key aides to the big man, and people who work for the key aides. That hierarchy stifles conversation. It keeps people from talking about what matters. Women’s groups don’t get as caught up in that, so they’re better at spreading information and driving change.
https://blog.wenxuecity.com/myblog/29065/201702/22723.html
