PSI, a leading international health organization, with programs in 66 countries, today officially launched Impact magazine to provide insight into today’s most pressing global health and development issues.

The premier issue takes a closer look at how improving access to comprehensive health services provides the foundation for women and girls to realize their full potential. “It is when girls and women realize their right to better health care and begin to demand it that the pressure on governments starts to build,” said Dr. Margaret Chan, Director General of the World Health Organization.

The issue also examines why Millennium Development Goal 5 – reducing maternal mortality – is lagging woefully behind.

Twelve visionary women offer exclusive insights into building a brighter future for girls and women. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf explains, “Women are breaking barriers daily, and in another decade there will be hundreds of women in real positions of leadership all over Africa and all over the world.”

In a special “7 Questions” feature, PSI Board Member Ashley Judd asks New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof whether international women’s issues are finally on the global agenda and what he has learned on his extensive travels.

And five women on the frontlines share their personal stories, challenges and triumphs in working to improve the health of women in their countries.