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Following the recent call of the UNWomen supported African Womens Leadership Network Nigeria’s call for Nigerian Women to lead national responses in the age of the coronavirus, and as governments and international bodies battle to combat the coronavirus pandemic, Women In Global Health, an international non-profit organisation comprised of women leaders in global health have launched the COVID-5050 campaign for a more inclusive pandemic response.

In an opinion-editorial, ‘Fighting COVID-19 With One Hand Tied Behind Our Backs, published by the prestigious United States Council of Foreign Relations, authors, Roopa Dhatt, Ann Keeling and Toyin Saraki have advanced the opinion that for better health security, it’s time to end gender biases that keep women out of global health positions.

The authors stated:

‘Fighting COVID-19 With One Hand Tied Behind Our Backs? For better health security, it’s time to end gender biases that keep women out of global health leadership positions’

‘Whenever a high-profile health emergency breaks out or an influential commission needs experts, it seems global health reverts to the default of delivered by women, led by men. The message seems to be Health emergency! Step aside, ladies – men coming through. Although women make up 70 percent of the global health workforce, and although they work at all levels in health security—from the front lines of healthcare, to research labs, to health policy circles – they have not been represented equally in decision-making bodies that are informing our COVID-19 responses.’

‘A presidential tweet showed the first iteration of the U.S. Coronavirus Task Force was composed entirely of men. In January, just five women were invited to join the twenty-one member WHO Emergency Committee on the novel coronavirus.’

‘Unrelated to this decision, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made a strong public statement a few weeks later. “Women’s inequality should shame us all. Because it is not only unacceptable; it is stupid,” Guterres said in February. “Only through the equal participation of women can we benefit from the intelligence, expertise and insights of all of humanity.”’

‘There is a huge contingency of global health experts who are also women, but they are not being called upon to lead responses to this global health emergency—and this puts us all at risk. Ignoring women’s expertise and perspectives undermines health security for everyone.’

Dhatt, Keeling and Saraki further buttressed their advocacy giving ‘Six reasons why gender matters in global health security’ stating:

‘NUMBER ONE: Strong COVID-19 responses draw leaders from the entire talent pool. Women are 70 percent of the global health workforce but hold only 25 percent of senior decision-making roles. Excluding women from decision making robs health systems of the knowledge and expertise of the health workers who know these systems best. In America, which has a mostly-male Coronavirus Task Force, women have become the majority of young doctors and epidemiologists. Including women (and women from diverse groups and geographies) is about effectiveness and saving lives, not just representation. Diverse leadership groups make better, more informed decisions.’

‘70% v. 25%; Women are 70 percent of the global health workforce but hold only 25 percent of senior decision-making roles’

‘NUMBER TWO: Women are needed to fill the global shortage of health workers, which limits our ability to respond to health emergencies. As the majority of the global health and social workforce, women currently deliver health care to around five billion people. Female health workers are central to the response to any epidemic. The women health workers on the front lines of health systems do not want to be sentimentalized or celebrated as martyrs. They want to lead, they want to be listened to and they want the means to do their jobs professionally, safely and with dignity. Around half of all health workers are nurses and midwives. As the International Year of the Nurse and the Midwife, what better time than 2020 to harness the expertise and leadership potential of nurses and midwives?’

‘A 2019 WHO report concluded, however, that although women are the majority in the health and social workforce, they are clustered into lower status, lower-paid (and unpaid) roles and frequently subject to discrimination, bias and sexual harassment, which can cause them harm, limit their career growth, and cause attrition. With a projected global shortage of around forty million health and social workers by 2030—eighteen million needed in vulnerable low-income countries alone—the world must invest urgently in decent work for female health workers and enable them to fulfil their potential in all areas, including leadership. That is our best chance of retaining female health workers and scaling up the global health workforce to meet demand and the challenges of epidemics and pandemics.’

‘NUMBER THREE: Women’s political voices strengthen health systems for better health security—now and in the future. Women do not have an equal say at political level in most countries on critical issues like health budgets and universal health coverage. Globally, women are only 24 percent of the parliamentarians who make decisions on health systems funding and coverage.’

‘Countries with strong national health systems and universal health coverage are better able to cope with outbreaks and other health emergencies’

‘If women did have an equal say in political decisions on health, research suggests health systems would be stronger as female parliamentarians are more likely to give greater priority to health. This matters now more than ever; countries with strong national health systems and universal health coverage are better able to cope with outbreaks and other health emergencies. Without strong health systems that make care affordable and accessible, the most vulnerable—older people, pregnant women, the homeless, the poor, and those with pre-existing conditions and poor health status (the majority of whom are women)—will be missed by critical outbreak response activities such as widespread testing and treatment. Ultimately, this hinders containment of infectious diseases like COVID-19.’

‘NUMBER FOUR: Women and men have different, socially defined roles—and this perpetuates inequalities and weakens health security. Women carry out the majority of care for sick family and community members, and that puts women at greater risk of contracting infections like COVID-19. At the same time, women’s role as household caregivers can be leveraged for better health promotion and disease prevention/management at the family and community levels—but only if they are empowered with accurate information and the means to support the sick. COVID-19 was initially associated with a particular food market in Wuhan, China, where it is likely that the majority of traders were women. After the SARS outbreak in China in 2002, women in the same professions could have been vital allies in the cultural and behavioral change needed to avert a new viral outbreak—but clearly, this opportunity was missed. In many country contexts women are less educated than men, have less access to digital technology, and are generally overlooked as potential change agents.’

‘NUMBER FIVE: Biology and gender determinants of health affect the way disease is transmitted and progresses. Data are still being collected and analysed, but early figures from the COVID-19 outbreak in China show higher mortality among men than women, especially in older age groups.’

‘Early figures from the COVID-19 outbreak in China show higher mortality among men than women, especially in older age groups’

‘One hypothesis is that higher smoking rates by men leaves them more susceptible to respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19. There are other gender-related aspects of the disease that are virtually unknown—for example, we still need to understand how COVID-19 affects pregnant and breastfeeding women in order to protect both women and the unborn child. A different virus, Zika, if contracted by a pregnant woman, does serious harm to the unborn child. Nothing similar has been reported with COVID-19, but this example show that it is critical that policy responses to epidemics examine the impact of both biological sex and the gender determinants of health.’

‘NUMBER SIX: Global health rests on the foundation of women’s unpaid work. Here’s an uncomfortable fact: women in health contribute an estimated 5 percent to global GDP ($3 trillion), of which almost 50 percent is unrecognised and unpaid. Some of the world’s poorest women and girls are effectively subsidising health systems and missing out on opportunities to enter education and the formal labor market. This is not only inequitable—it weakens global health security everywhere. Infectious diseases like COVID-19 do not respect national borders, and we are all only as safe as people in the weakest national health system. Women’s unpaid work needs to be recorded, redistributed (within the family and community) and rewarded, with women enabled to transition into paid formal sector employment. ‘We cannot fight a global health challenge like this by drawing from just half the talent pool’’

The authors, Roopa Dhatt, Ann Keeling and Toyin Saraki concluded by announcing the launch of the COVID50/50 Campaign, stating:

‘This week, Women in Global Health was proud to launch COVID 50/50, our campaign for a more inclusive pandemic responses, which includes fives asks for more gender-responsive health security. These asks build on Operation 50/50—a crowdsourced list of women health security experts, designed to be a resource for organizations looking for health security experts and media commentary on COVID-19. The current pandemic makes it clear: it’s time to acknowledge that the gender stereotypes and bias keeping women out of leadership and decision making put us all at risk. We cannot fight a global health challenge like this by drawing from just half the talent pool. We cannot win this fight with one hand tied behind our backs.’

//ENDS//

SOURCE: https://www.thinkglobalhealth.org/article/fighting-covid-19-one-hand-tied-behind-our-backs

EDITOR’S NOTE: The authors are associated with the nonprofit organization Women in Global Health.

Roopa Dhatt is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Women in Global Health

Ann Keeling is Senior Fellow, Board of Directors, Women in Global Health

Her Excellency Toyin Saraki is Founder and President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, and a Steering Committee Member, African Women’s Leadership Network.

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HE Toyin Ojora Saraki Global Statement – 31st March 2020

Women’s Rights In Childbirth Must Be Upheld During The Coronavirus Pandemic – HE Toyin Ojora Saraki Global Statement – 31st March 2020

‘The International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) is concerned that the human rights of women, their babies and their midwives are being violated by the introduction, in many countries, of inappropriate protocols for management of pregnancy, birth and postnatal care in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. These inappropriate protocols are not based in current reputable evidence and are harmful to the wellbeing of women and their babies’

‘As a woman, as a mother and grandmother, as Global Goodwill Ambassador to the International Confederation of Midwives since 2014, and as Founder of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa – conceived to ensure safer births – I share, endorse, and give my support to the grave concerns expressed by the ICM which represents over 1 million midwives and 600 country associations in more than 130 countries, that Women’s Rights in Childbirth Must be Upheld During the Coronavirus Pandemic.’

‘In every country and community worldwide, pregnancy and childbirth are momentous events in the lives of women and families and represent a time of intense vulnerability. The concept of “safe motherhood” is usually restricted to physical safety, but childbearing is also an important rite of passage, with deep personal and cultural significance for a woman and her family. Because motherhood is specific to women, issues of gender equity and gender violence are also at the core of maternity care. Thus, the notion of safe motherhood must be expanded beyond the prevention of morbidity or mortality to encompass respect for women’s basic human rights including respect for women’s autonomy, dignity, feelings, choices, and preferences, including the right to companionship during maternity care.’

‘A childbearing woman’s right to respectful maternity care focuses specifically on the inter-personal aspects of care received by women seeking maternity services. A woman’s relationship with maternity care providers and the maternity care system during pregnancy and childbirth is vitally important. Not only are these encounters the vehicle for essential and potentially lifesaving health services, pregnant and recently pregnant women’s experiences with caregivers at this time have the impact to empower and comfort or to inflict lasting damage and emotional trauma, adding to or detracting from women’s confidence and self-esteem. I have been disturbed and dismayed by news coverage and anecdotal reports of enforced separations of recently delivered mothers from their newborns, a cruel development with no medical justification.’

‘The role of midwives as guardians of women’s rights to health has been historically evidenced since physician Ignaz Semmelweis documented the effects of hand hygiene on health in the 1800’s, noting that women delivered by midwives’ clean hands had higher survival outcomes than other patients in his hospital who perished, thereby announcing that hand hygiene, the same core infection prevention and control protocols being deployed to deliver the world from COVID today in 2020, saved lives.’

‘The WHO recommendations on caring for pregnant and recently pregnant women with COVID-19 insist that to date, there is limited data on clinical presentation and perinatal outcomes after COVID-19 during pregnancy or the puerperium, and there is no evidence that pregnant women present with different signs or symptoms or are at higher risk of severe illness, and that considering asymptomatic transmission of COVID-19 may be possible in pregnant or recently pregnant women, as with the general population, all women with epidemiologic history of contact should be carefully monitored.’

‘I urge all policymakers to remember that women’s memories of their childbearing experiences stay with them for a lifetime and are often shared with other women, contributing to a climate of confidence or doubt around childbearing.’

‘Pregnant women around the world are already facing a crisis of uncertainty over where and how to access much needed routine antenatal and postnatal care as health facilities shut their doors to patients except those needing care for severe respiratory symptoms of the covid pandemic – As the world unites to combat, contain and control COVID-19, this is not the time to needlessly assault the rights of childbearing women at their most vulnerable point of need, we must respect the rights of a woman in childbirth, during the coronavirus, and always, for every woman, and her newborn, for all, everywhere.’

SOURCES:

The WHO recommendations can be viewed here: https://www.internationalmidwives.org/assets/files/news-files/2020/03/who-clinical-management-of-novel-cov-march-2020.pdf

ICM’s statement and advice is available here: https://www.internationalmidwives.org/icm-news/women%E2%80%99s-rights-in-childbirth-must-be-upheld-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic.html

COVID19 – Toyin Saraki launches #SafeSurfaceScience Challenge with London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
London/Abuja
23rd March 2020

The world is paying close attention to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, following its emergence in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. With the outbreak of a novel coronavirus declared a pandemic by the World Health Organisation, people worldwide are working to address it, including Wellbeing Foundation Africa Founder Toyin Saraki who today announced the launch of the #SafeSurfaceScience Challenge with Professor Wendy Graham and a team of scientists at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. The move, launched to coincide with World Water Day, comes as part of the effort to slow the spread of COVID-19 and focuses on the importance of cleaning surfaces, including mobile phones, in addition to cleaning hands.

Toyin Saraki, who as well as being the Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa is also Special Adviser to the Independent Advisory Group to the WHO Regional Office for Africa, has partnered with Wendy Graham, Professor of Obstetrics and Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, to encourage best practice in homes and healthcare facilities. Professor Graham commented:

“Many germs are spread by our hands. We have known this for centuries. We have also known that surfaces which are touched by many people, like door handles, taps or taxi seats, can also harbour germs, sometimes for days. In the fight against coronavirus – we must put this knowledge to good use and take action – keep hands and surfaces clean and safe. And if we do this for our families and community, we will also reduce the spread of other germs which make us sick.”

Toyin Saraki further explains the challenge as follows: “We know that washing hands with soap and water for 20 seconds following the method shown by the World Health Organization, is the way to keep hands safe. And this must be done frequently. When in public places, try to avoid touching surfaces as much as possible, and if you have to touch – use moist wipes or hand gel afterwards, and wash your hands properly when you get home. And while you are out, make sure that you don’t touch your nose, your mouth or your eyes, because that’s how the virus finds a way into your respiratory system.”

“Keep surfaces in your home clean, too. You can do this with frequent wiping down with clean water and soap or detergent. And just as there is a right way to wash hands, so there is a way to wipe surfaces as well – use a clean cloth and wipe in one direction once, applying pressure to shift the germs, and then rinse the cloth in a separate bucket with disinfectant. One cloth; one surface; one direction. Think of all those things you touch frequently in your daily life for which you have responsibility & practice One Wipe, One Site, One Direction, including your mobile phone.”

“Join the #SafeSurfaceScience Challenge and post your challenge videos on social media! Together we can improved hygiene and help to beat COVID-19.”

Notes to Editors
The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is a world leader in research and postgraduate education in public and global health. Its mission is to improve health and health equity worldwide.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has launched a new course providing information on COVID-19 which is available here: https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/covid19-novel-coronavirus

Toyin Saraki is set to join UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Heads of State, representatives from the private sector and senior women leaders at the African Union High-Level Meeting on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. Stakeholders are gathering at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to define actions to accelerate the implementation of impactful delivery of gender equality and women’s empowerment initiatives.

Ahead of the High-Level Meeting, Mrs Saraki was lauded by the Special Envoy of the Chairperson of the African Union Commission on Women, Peace and Security, Mme Bineta Diop, for her commitment and leadership in the advancement of Gender Equality and Women Empowerment.

Mrs Saraki, who was integral to the conception and launch of the Nigeria Chapter of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN) in July 2019, commented:

“I am delighted that the High-Level Meeting will afford us the opportunity to officially launch the African Women Leadership Fund (AWLF) led by the AUC and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) as part of the flagship initiatives of the African Women Leaders Network (AWLN).”

“I will also join the Corporate Council on Africa (CCA) for their Business Breakfast and Roundtable on Combating Hepatitis in Africa, which will launch a political declaration to combat hepatitis. It is critical that we are able to create this effective platform for leaders across governments and the private sector to collaborate and utilise opportunities to eliminate hepatitis in Africa.”

“The broader theme of the 33rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union – “Silencing the Guns: Creating Conducive Conditions for Africa’s Development” – demonstrates that peace and stability are the foundations of progress. There can never be health for all, or proper political representation for women, without peace.”

“I strongly agree with Professor Klaus Schwab, Founder-Chairman of the World Economic Forum, that we can accelerate progress as stakeholders for a cohesive and sustainable future. Around the world, people are revolting against the economic elites, which they have believe have betrayed them. Water, sanitation and hygiene results are falling dangerously behind and nowhere is inequality more stark than in the health conditions of women, children, and adolescents. Yet when women lead, change happens – in Nigeria, between 2010 and 2015, we measured a 35% increase in maternity survival due to the introduction of the Midwives Service Scheme which saw 4400 more midwives deployed within the public health system. As the world unites to celebrate this 2020 Year of the Nurse and Midwife, I hope to mobilise support and resources for midwifery competencies, to demonstrate safer birth solutions for healthy futures for all within the Davos Manifesto 2020.”  – Toyin Saraki, Founder-President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, made a series of interventions at the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting this week in Davos, Switzerland.

This year’s meeting, which focuses on the theme ‘Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World,’ brought together nearly 3,000 participants from 117 countries, including 53 heads of state and leaders from business, civil society, academia, media and the arts. This year’s annual meeting coincides with the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, as dedicated by the World Health Organization – a year in which Mrs Saraki, as the Global Goodwill Ambassador of the International Confederation of Midwives, is committed to uniting, mobilising, demonstrating, and celebrating midwife competencies as frontline professionals crucial to achieving universal health coverage.

This week at Davos, Mrs Saraki, who commented “As a member of the United Nations and African Union’s Africa Women Leaders Initiative, we know that we examine our goals and progress through our gender lens” also participated in a series of high-level gender and diversity initiatives aiming to build progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal Five: Gender Equality. These include the ‘100,000 Women Campaign’: to transform the lives of over 100,000 women entrepreneurs in Lower and Middle-Income Countries by 2022, of the Cherie Blair Foundation; a fireside discussion on equality in the workplace hosted by the Female Quotient and Boston Consulting Group; the launch of British Vogue’s ‘Forces for Change’ hosted by Vanessa Kingori MBE and Natalia Vodianova as a previous awardee of the United Nations Fashion for Development Age of Humanity Award, and ‘When Women Lead, Change Happens’ hosted by UNAIDS and Reckitt Benckiser to discuss the role of educating women around sexual health, bringing health ministers, academics and business leaders together to collaborate on the realities of HIV/AIDS for young women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mrs Saraki, who initiated the “Clean Hands Save Lives” global advocacy campaign to improve water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) conditions alongside the World Health Organization and other partners in 2018, addressed a high-level gathering on water scarcity and safety. The “Safe Water Saves Lives” panel with Reckitt Benckiser (RB) highlighted the success seen in water sanitation  projects in India and Nigeria and how this can be leveraged in other water-critical countries.

Mrs Saraki was joined by Karin Maria Krchnak, Head of Water Resources Group 2030 at The World Bank, Trisha Shetty, Founder, SheSays, Gary White, Founder & CEO of Water.org, Chinenye Monde-Anumihe, social justice and human rights activist and WEF Global Shaper, and Alice Moore, the brand lead for Harpic.

Mrs Saraki commented during her speech at the event:

“2020 must mark the beginning of a decade of action for the global community. We have only ten years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and it is twenty-five years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. We must honestly appraise the progress that we have made so far and appraise where we are still falling short.”

“Standards of water, sanitation and hygiene in Nigeria and globally continue to represent a major challenge. I welcome recent achievements and milestones, in particular WHO resolutions and country commitments, but WASH is one area where ‘business as usual’ is simply not good enough.”

“Since April 2018 when the Wellbeing Foundation Africa introduced new WASH in schools and hygiene in health care facilities and households programs, while advocating to reduce open defecation, we have measured considerable impact which gives us the courage to now insist on a rapid acceleration of our best-practice models engaging midwives as sanitation angels, to national scale.”

“As I reflect on the past few years of World Economic Forum meetings, my thinking has evolved: and it has become more widely accepted that the donor-recipient model of development is no longer fit for purpose. Primary health is the essential building block to ignite midwifery competencies which will fuel specialist expertise – relying on competencies on both sides and whole-system support.”

“This decade must bring us all to a more equal table. The era of ‘north-south’ is gone and must be replaced by a more balanced development dialogue based on mutual respect and understanding. That dialogue will bring about a learning exchange and help to celebrate, demonstrate, mobilise and unite the global health workforce, as outlined by the International Confederation of Midwives, for whom I am proud to serve as the Global Goodwill Ambassador.”

“In 2020, designated by the World Health Organization as the year of the Nurse and Midwife, we can kick-start the decade of action and place midwives at the core of that new dialogue and delivery. I look forward to continued work with my fellow stakeholders this week in Davos.”

Mrs Saraki’s bilateral and multisector engagements included: Funding the Future 2.0 – to catalyse investments that deliver on health, as the guest of Devex, MSD for Mothers, U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and Credit Suisse; Beyond Boundaries – The Transformative Power of Education and Healthcare, as a guest of Global Citizen Forum and Malaika; Africa Outlook: Economics, Innovation and Governance as a guest of the Global Citizen Forum, and Accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals through National Leadership and Cross-sector Partnerships hosted by the Brookings Institute, the New York City Mayor’s Office for International Affairs and the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

Participating at the Rise Fund’s ‘Accelerating Impact – CEOs Leading The Charge Towards Positive Impact’, Mrs Saraki joined Jim Coulter, Maya Chorengel, and Steve Ellis at Davos House for the session, moderated by Alan Murray, president and CEO of Fortune, stating:

“I am hopeful that the private sector will rise to the challenge and work to urgently deliver the Sustainable Development Goals #SDGs”

“I was honoured to meet and engage with John Kerry, 68th United States Secretary of State, whose wise words resonated with me – we do have an obligation to protect the planet for our future generations, and we must deliver it urgently.”

“I very much enjoyed learning from the impact investing insights of Kelly Rinaudo, CEO of Zipline, Ken Njoroge, CEO Cellulant, Tom Davidson founder and CEO of EVERFI, Anne Finucane, Vice Chairman of Bank of America, and Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group”

Mrs Saraki concluded her Davos participation with a high-level intervention at UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, Royal Philips (Philips) – Building a Global Private Sector Coalition for Women and Girls Health and Wellbeing. This engagement built on the recent High-Level Breakfast Roundtable held in Lagos, Nigeria, hosted by the Wellbeing Foundation Africa, in partnership with UNFPA. The roundtable convened private, philanthropic, and multi-sector stakeholders in Nigeria to secure a series of significant commitments towards the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Three Zeros: zero unmet need for contraception; zero preventable maternal deaths; and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

For further information please contact Presssecretary@wbfafrica.org

Sunday, 19th January, Malaga, Spain. Yesterday ahead of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa’s participation at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos, H.E. Mrs Toyin Saraki, Founder- President of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa delivered a keynote speech on the need for urgency when implementing inventions to reduce maternal mortality to 75 senior employees of Ferrings Pharmaceuticals, including the full Executive Committee, Senior Vice Presidents, and General Managers from key markets.

During an interview with Curt McDaniel, Chief Legal Officer at Ferrings, Mrs Saraki discussed the destructive impact of post-partum Haemorrhage on women and families in Nigeria and across Sub-Saharan Africa; delivering improved and accessible health systems as a priority; and why health information in the hands of mothers is key to improving maternal outcomes.

“Although medicines are only part of the solution to strengthening health systems, they are a critical component. As a pharmaceutical group I am delighted that you have found a way to make certain maternal healthcare interventions affordable. However, I believe you should also see it as your responsibly to deliver these solutions to the people who need them the most. Through it was our political leaders that promised to deliver the sustainable development goals by 2030, we must all part of efforts, particularly in the private sector, to deliver them.” Mrs Saraki said.

Nearly 20% of all global maternal deaths happen in Nigeria. In 2015, the country’s estimated maternal mortality ratio was over 800 maternal deaths per 100 000 live births, with approx. 58 000 maternal deaths during that year1, a leading cause of which is post-partum haemorrhage.

“Post-partum haemorrhage or excessive bleeding after birth is a sudden, terrifying condition, that thousands of women in my country die unnecessarily from. Maternal mortality is not only a colossal waste of life but remains a constant, and impenetrable barrier to development. When you are making strategic decisions about the feasibility of delivering certain life-saving medications to low and middle income countries, I urge you to build into your calculations the cost of a human life. We have the technology, we have the knowledge, we have the medicines, and we now need to urgently deliver the healthcare.”

“Health systems are primarily made up of people. When seeking to build strong healthcare, we must not neglect the importance of creating effective health-seeking behaviour. We know that some risks which increase maternal mortality can be reduced through a strong relationship between a mother and midwife. For example, a woman may perceive that she is in better control of the delivery process at home. A midwife can act as a strong advocate for facility-based delivery, meaning should a mother experience a complication she is more likely to access live-saving care in time.”

“As we commence the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, I am encouraged that over 250,000 women have taken part in our midwifery services led MamaCare programme, Antenatal and Postnatal classes, delivered by a team of 55 midwives to mothers in healthcare facilities across Kwara, Ogun, Osun, Lagos, Kaduna states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory. Our MamaCare mothers are now achieving the now standard number of antenatal eight visits recommended by the WHO, and we are yet to lose a single one to death in childbirth.”

As Wellbeing Foundation Africa Founder-President, Mrs Saraki is a Global Advocate for Water Sanitation and Hygiene in Health Care Facilities, who also serves as Global Goodwill Ambassador to the International Confederation of Midwives, Family Planning Champion to the United Nations Population Fund, and International Steering Committee member of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD). This week at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in Davos Mrs Saraki will be undertaking key advocacy activities to mobilise and unite whole system support for Midwifery, a frontline profession critical towards achieving healthy futures for childbearing women. The theme of this year’s annual meeting is: Stakeholders for a Cohesive and Sustainable World, which will focus on renewing the concept of stakeholder capitalism to overcome income inequality, societal division and the climate crisis.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

About the Wellbeing Foundation Africa

The Wellbeing Foundation Africa was founded in 2004 by Her Excellency Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, with the aim of improving health outcomes for women, infants and children. At the WBFA, we combine our programmes with advocacy work in Nigeria and around the world.

Over 250,000 women have taken part in our flagship ‘MamaCare’ classes in Nigeria. Despite dire national maternal mortality rates, we have not yet lost a single MamaCare mother. Our WBFA midwives transform the lives of mothers, their children and communities – and for whom no topic is off-limits.

Our Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC) programme is run in partnership with the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the oldest and most established school of tropical medicine in the world, and Johnson & Johnson, one of the largest global health companies. We implement the EmONC training programme in Kwara State as part of a unique partnership model, bringing together an esteemed higher-education institution, the private sector, and a civil society organisation.

Our #MaternalMonday, #WASHWednesday, #ThriveThursday, and #FrontlineFriday campaigns were conceived as a platform for mothers, healthworkers, and our WBFA midwives to share their knowledge, experiences & best practice. The aim of that sharing exercise is to raise awareness for the improvement of reproductive, maternal, newborn, child & adolescent health; quality of frontline care; and water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure. Most importantly, we harness the power of story-telling on social media to share accurate information.

In 2017 we launched our sister organisation, Wellbeing for Women Africa. Harnessing the best and brightest minds around African development, Wellbeing for Women Africa elevates passionate young experts into decision-making spaces, whilst honing their craft as advocates through their editorial advocacy micro-grants programme. Please visit Wellbeing for Women Africa here: https://www.wellbeingwomen.org.

The WBFA’s programmes, which have since expanded to include water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), Alive and Thrive and MamaCare+N – supported by global partners – inform its advocacy work, led by our Founder-President, H.E Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki, who is a global champion for Universal Health Coverage, Special Advisor to the Independent Advisory Group (IAG) of the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Regional Office for Africa (AFRO) and the inaugural Global Goodwill Ambassador for the International Confederation on Midwives (ICM).

About Ferring Pharmaceuticals

Ferring Pharmaceuticals is a research-driven, speciality biopharmaceutical group committed to helping people around the world build families and live better lives. Headquartered in Saint-Prex, Switzerland, Ferring is a leader in reproductive medicine and women’s health, and in speciality areas within gastroenterology and urology. Ferring has been developing treatments for mothers and babies for over 50 years and has a portfolio covering treatments from conception to birth. Founded in 1950, privately-owned Ferring now employs approximately 6,500 people worldwide, has its own operating subsidiaries in nearly 60 countries and markets its products in 110 countries.