The world is filled with paradoxes and ironies, gulfs between rhetoric and reality, and instances of just plain hypocrisy. So perhaps we should be unsurprised by the vast gap between how widely the international community recognizes the importance of adolescent girls’ health and what is actually done to help girls in developing countries become fully prepared for healthy, empowered, and productive adult lives.

It is time to the close that gap. It is time to invest in adolescent girls’ health for the payoffs that will accrue to girls and to their families, communities, and countries over many generations. For those who seek ways to uphold human rights and accelerate progress toward better maternal and child health, reduced HIV incidence, and other Millennium Development Goals, this is the moment to commit to a global health agenda for adolescent girls.