Women’s Democratic Empowerment Matters for Child Health

Abstract Epidemiological research supports a correlation between increased strength of democracy and improved population health. In their recent article, “Democracy Matters for Child Health,” Hoops and colleagues build on this existing evidence base to demonstrate that democracy improves child health in particular. We agree and further argue that public health and child health advocates should be particularly concerned with antidemocratic threats to women’s rights and policies that undermine gender equity.