News From the International Council on Women's Health Issues

2016 will be an important year for women's health as we move into a new strategic process to achieve gender equality and improve the health of women and girls. On August 2, 2015, governments around the world harnessed their collective energy to focus on an ambitious agenda that addresses 17 new sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 targets that aim to end poverty, combat inequalities, and promote prosperity while protecting the environment. These targets are hoped to be achieved by 2030, leaving us little time to operationalize targets and strategies. Women and girls, who make up over half the world's population, are vital to enacting this agenda. Goal 5 of the SDGs, which seeks to achieve gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls, is an important focus of the International Council on Women's Health Issues (ICOWHI). The 21st ICOWHI Congress, Scale and Sustainability: Moving Women's Health Forward, will be held November 6–9, 2016 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland (USA). This will be a critical time for individuals in policy, practice, education, and research to convene and strategize meaningful, measurable, and attainable strategies to improve the health of women globally. Please consider submitting an abstract for the Congress and join a global conversation on improving women's health issues. Leading up to the Congress we hope to stimulate global conversations on important issues for women's health. As well as reading Health Care for Women International for the latest in Council news, please follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/icowhi/ and Twitter at @ICOWHI. The ICOWHI Board wish you good health, peace, and happiness in 2016, and thank you for your important work to improve the health of women and girls.

Patricia Davidson, PhD, Med, RN, FAAN

School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University

©Patricia Davidson