The latest news from and about EngenderHealth, a leading international nonprofit working in sexual and reproductive health. For more information, visit our web site or join us on YouTube, Facebook, and MySpace.
Congratulations to EngenderHealth's Carrie Ngongo! Carrie, Senior Program Associate with Fistula Care, received an honorable mention in New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's Half the Sky contest.
Carrie’s reflection on motherhood and the inspiring work to help women with fistula get treatment was selected from more than 700 entries.
You can help EngenderHealth make motherhood safer around the world! Join us.
And don't miss EngenderHealth's Reader's Companion for Half the Sky!
You wouldn't expect a plenary session at the Clinton Global Initiative called "Moving From Crisis to Opportunity - Financing an Equitable Future," featuring the CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co., to be the natural venue for launching a major initiative on maternal health.
But that's exactly what happened Friday morning in New York, when former President Bill Clinton unveiled a new program and CGI Commitment to Action called Young Champions for Maternal Health.
A partnership between the Maternal Health Task Force at EngenderHealth (the organization I lead) and Ashoka, a pioneer in social entrepreneurship, Young Champions is the first international fellowship program to focus exclusively on maternal health. The strategy: Build the next generation of passionate and committed innovators in this field by offering a nine-month work study that will conclude with each fellow designing a concrete solution to protect women's reproductive health. EngenderHealth and Ashoka will jointly promote these solutions to the broader global health community.
As a 25-year veteran in the health field, I couldn't have been more gratified to see this innovative program take the stage, literally, at a major forum on the world's financial systems. It validated what those of us on the front lines of global health know to be true: To truly move beyond financial crises and do so in a sustainable and equitable way, we must invest in the health and well-being of mothers, particularly in the developing world.
Inspired by Half the Sky? EngenderHealth’s online Reader's Companion to Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s best-selling book will deepen your understanding of women's health and rights and the change that is happening around the world, every minute, every day. Hear the voices of those working on the front lines of global health and development, and of the women and men who are beating impossible odds and improving lives in their communities.
EngenderHealth is named in Half the Sky as an organization doing important work to support women in developing countries. Chapter-by-chapter, the Companion offers diverse perspectives, interviews, facts, and stories that expand on the topics in the book, drawing on EngenderHealth's expertise and program experiences around the world.
Learn more about what you can do to turn oppression into opportunity for women and girls everywhere!
"At stake are the more than half a million of expectant and new mothers who die each year, 99% of them in developing countries where maternal care is scarce. That's more than one woman every minute. Yet the number of maternal deaths has remained virtually unchanged for the past two decades. This is unconscionable, and it's why the Group of Eight leaders recently agreed that the world must do more to ensure that mothers everywhere can deliver their babies safely. Here in the U.S., we can do our part by doing more to fund life-saving efforts.
"When most of us think of childbirth, it triggers an image of a mother in a comfortable delivery room, holding the baby she'd dreamed of. Birth is a triumph, in part because pregnancy is never without some degree of risk. But in countries where women have a 1 in 8 lifetime chance of dying from pregnancy or giving birth, it can be tantamount to Russian roulette."
Read the rest of the column at the Huffington Post.
President Obama greets Richard Killian and other EngenderHealth staff at the information booth.
During his visit to Ghana, President Obama traveled to La General Hospital in Accra, where EngenderHealth trains health providers from across the country to provide high-quality family planning services. While at the hospital, the President and the First Lady stopped by an information booth, met a few of our staff who spoke about the importance of family planning, and learned more about our programs across the country.
EngenderHealth has worked in Ghana for more than 20 years to expand contraceptive use, improve health outcomes, and make lasting positive changes in the Ghanaian public health system. Currently, EngenderHealth collaborates with the local government to reduce maternal deaths, by ensuring that clients can prevent unwanted pregnancies and can choose from a wide range of family planning services, including long-acting and permanent methods. Other initiatives include expanding prevention and treatment services for HIV and reducing related stigma. Indeed, we work with all levels of the health system—from doctors to midwives to policymakers—to improve the quality of health care.
During his visit, President Obama spoke passionately about the need to address poor maternal health. “Part of the reason this is so important is throughout Africa the rates of both infant mortality, but also maternal mortality, [are] still far too high—I mean by a factor of a multiple of 10s compared to many other parts of the world,” the President said. The kinds of programs that provide strong prenatal and maternal care, he said, “are very important.” President Obama’s comments, along with proposed funding increases in next year’s budget, signal his commitment to global maternal and child health, as well as to reproductive health and family planning.
Meeting several mothers and their babies at the clinic, President Obama noted, “This is the highlight of the trip.”
Read more information about EngenderHealth’s activities in Ghana.
Recent actions in Congress show growing momentum and support for maternal and child health and family planning, with historic funding increases proposed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate. Equally significant, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment offered by Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) to legislatively eliminate the Global Gag Rule.
Both the House and Senate called for increased funding for global health in the foreign aid budget for fiscal year (FY) 2010. The House already passed a bill allocating $528 million for maternal and child programs and $648.5 million for family planning, an increase of $100 million for family planning over enacted levels in FY2009.
On the Senate side, a spending bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee now awaits a vote by the full Senate. It calls for $628.5 million for family planning and reproductive health programs—$83.5 million above the FY2009 level and $35 million above President Obama’s request. In addition, a total of $555 million for child survival and maternal health was allocated—$31.5 million above President Obama’s request and $60 million above the FY2009 level.
Senator Lautenberg’s amendment to the spending bill would stop the 25-year-long back-and-forth over the Global Gag Rule, with successive presidents instituting and then repealing the policy. Lautenberg proposed an amendment that would prevent a future president from reinstating the policy by executive order.
“It is time to end the dangerous and harmful Global Gag Rule permanently. Health care providers across the globe should be able to care for the health of women and families, without ideological obstacles blocking the way. This amendment will strengthen America’s position as an international leader for women’s rights,” said Lautenberg.
Both houses of Congress are on August recess, but when returning in September, the Senate will be taking up appropriations for foreign aid. Write your senators today and ask them to vote yes and show their support for these global health priorities.
Following the Senate vote, both the bills will go to conference, and the allocations will be finalized. EngenderHealth will keep you informed of new developments.
August 11, 2009, NEW YORK—EngenderHealth is pleased to announce new appointments on our Board of Directors. Brenda J. Drake, a Board member since 2003, is now Chair, taking the helm from Stasia Obremskey—who is stepping down from the Board. Dr. George F. Brown, a director since 2006, will serve as Chair of the Executive Committee, and Francine Coeytaux, who formerly held this position, is now Vice Chair of the Board. EngenderHealth also welcomes two new members: Dr. Julio Frenk and Dr. Supanya Lamsam.
Brenda J. Drake is Director of the Public Health Trust in Oakland, California. Ms. Drake practiced corporate law for 15 years before entering the philanthropic sector and joining the Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund. During her 10 years at the Fund, she developed and implemented programs in population, reproductive health and rights, services for the elderly, low-income community organizing, and social justice for incarcerated men, women, and youth. Ms. Drake also served as Interim Executive Director for the Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco. Ms. Drake is a graduate of Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.
Dr. George F. Brown, Senior Consultant in Reproductive Health for The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, was Vice President, International Programs, at the Population Council for more than two decades. Dr. Brown expanded the Council’s work to more than 50 countries. Under his leadership, new research programs were created in gender and development, HIV and AIDS, and maternal mortality. He also served as Special Advisor in Population to the President of the Canadian International Development Agency and as Director, Health Equity, for the Rockefeller Foundation. Dr. Brown received his medical degree from the University of Toronto and a Master’s in Public Health from Harvard University.
The two new Board members, Dr. Julio Frenk and Dr. Supanya Lamsam, also bring extensive expertise in global health. “We are thrilled to have these two new, internationally recognized leaders joining our dedicated Board,” said Ana Langer. “I am personally very much looking forward to working with them.”
Dr. Julio Frenk is the new Dean of the Harvard School of Public Health. He served as Mexico’s Minister of Health from 2000 to 2006, leading a ground-breaking and internationally recognized effort to transform the national insurance and public health system. During his 25-year career, Dr. Frenk has been a Senior Fellow of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s Global Health Program and held executive positions at the World Health Organization and the Mexican Health Foundation. Dr. Frenk holds a medical degree from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, as well as a Master’s in Public Health and a joint doctorate in Medical Care Organization and Sociology from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Supanya Lamsam is a biomedically trained scientist with 20 years of experience in HIV and AIDS policy, fundraising, program management, and evaluation. As the Founding Executive Director of the Thailand Business Coalition on AIDS, she co-created an innovative program to provide financial incentives to reward companies that implement HIV and AIDS prevention and nondiscrimination programs. She also held senior positions at the International HIV/AIDS Alliance and the Population and Community Development Association in Thailand. Dr. Lamsam has a Ph.D. in molecular parasitology and a B.Sc. in Biology from the Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine in the United Kingdom.
