Melinda Gates will be traveling shortly to Bangladesh to look at maternal health, child health and women’s issues (including family planning and reproductive health) — and she has agreed to answer your questions about these topics while she’s there. So please post your questions for Melinda and me about these issues in the comments below, and we’ll choose some and give you our best answers.  Why these topics? They’re among the most important challenges we face. Women continue to die needlessly in childbirth, especially in Africa and South Asia, when we know exactly how to save their lives. And infant mortality — especially neo-natal deaths — remain a huge problem in many countries. As for empowering women, this isn’t just about justice; it’s also often the most cost-effective way to save lives and benefit entire societies. These are issues that Melinda and the Gates Foundation have thought long and hard about, and that I’ve tried to popularize in my column and on Twitter and my Facebook page (and, of course, in “Half the Sky”).  I also have lots of admiration for Bill and Melinda Gates. Until relatively recently, philanthropy tended to be about supporting art museums, universities and the symphony — all worthy causes, but also ones that disproportionately benefit those who are already better off. And much of that giving seems to me to be about networking, raising one’s own status or getting one’s grandchildren into the right university. Bill and Melinda helped refocus attention on the world’s neediest citizens, and they also brought a tough-minded business-like focus on measurement, metrics and getting the most bang for the buck while saving lives. That’s as important as the amount of money they’ve thrown at development problems.  So post questions below for Melinda and me. Tough, skeptical questions welcome.
Readers are invited to send in questions to Melinda Gates (and to me) about maternal and child health, and women's empowerment, while she's on a trip to Bangladesh.