The Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) MWIA Quarterly Update – Activities of MWIA and its Regions – September 2023 is now available. AFMW is affiliated with Medical Women’s International Association, an association of medical women and students representing women doctors from all six continents and eight regions.
MWIA Quarterly Update September 2023 [Extract]
President’s Message
Greetings from the desk of the President.
Year two of my tenure as substantive President in the 2022-2025 triennium launched us into an era of MWIA being a preferred partner true to our theme – One Humanity: Health Solutions through our Partnerships
The month of July kicked off with MWIA participating in the Innovation Equity Forum (IEF) from July 6-7th, 2023 hosted by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women’s Health and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (Gates Foundation) in Bethesda, USA. It was a humbling and inspiring couple of days being in the same space with phenomenal women’s research and development co-travelers, and discussing cross-cutting priorities to improve the health of women.
In keeping with MWIA statutory requirements, the 32nd Congress report, co-authored by Dr. Mariam Jashi, MWIA Secretary General, Dr. Chyong-Huey Lai, Chair Local Organizing Committee of MWIA 2022 Congress and my humble self, was circulated to members.
The phase of cementing partnerships and collaboration took off in earnest with formalized partnerships. For example, MWIA is now one of 19 NGO partners in the WHO and UNHCR – Group of Friends of Health for Refugees and Host Communities. Formal partnerships also now exist with Every Woman Treaty and UNFPA Equity 2030 Alliance.
Thanks to International Health Awareness Network (IHAN) led by Dr. Sorosh Roshan and Prof. Gaye Casper, MWIA members were able to get UN passes for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in late September. Our main UN Representative Dr. Connie Newman, hosted MWIA delegates to a dinner in New York. My visit to New York enabled me to confirm MWIA’s active ECOSOC status.
I also had the opportunity to represent MWIA at meetings at UNGA including the High- Level meetings on Pandemic Preparedness, Prevention and Response (PPPR) as well as Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
I heartily congratulate the MWIA Secretary General, Dr. Mariam Jashi on her appointment as the new CEO of Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA).Thanks to her leadership, MWIA was the official co-organizer of the First High Level Side Event on Sepsis on the margins of the UN General Assembly together with the Global Sepsis Alliance (GSA), Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), UNITE Parliamentarians Network for Global Health (UNITE) ,Virchow Foundation for Global Health and Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership (GARDP). Ambassador John Nkengasong, the First Laureate of the Virchow Prize, was the keynote Speaker. Dr. Mariam Jashi delivered one of the opening addresses and I moderated the first Panel. This was followed by another side event on Sepsis in Berlin at the 2023 World Health Summit in October.
Following the UNGA, I co-authored an opinion editorial in Newsweek online on 27/9/23.
I also had the opportunity to participate in the Human Rights and CEDAW sessions in Geneva.
MWIA was featured among the first founding members of the formal Launch of the Equity 2030 Alliance at the World Health Summit in October in Berlin. The United Nations sexual and reproductive agency, UNFPA launched the Equity 2030 Alliance with an aim to close the gender equity gap in science, tech and financing solutions. The Alliance seeks to accelerate actions to normalize gender equity in science and technology by introducing data-driven arguments and strategies and it was an honour for me to speak at the launch. Additionally, I represented MWIA as a speaker in three high level panels and dialogues at the Berlin World Health Summit.
With the partnership initiatives outlined above, I invite you to take a look at the MWIA visibility tracker presented in this update by Dr. Beverly Johnson, MWIA Social Media chair.
Once again, my thanks to our dedicated members around the world and to our editorial team Dr. Clarissa Fabre and Nanuka Katchiuri for putting this publication together.
Commemoration of MWIA’s 104th Anniversary
I am delighted to announce the 104th Anniversary of MWIA and acknowledge our founding mothers.
Below is an extract from the book by Dr Dorothy Ward entitled ‘They cure in a motherly spirit: History of the Medical Women’s International Association’
“At midday on 25th October 1919, medical women from 15 different countries assembled at the headquarters of the YWCA, 600 Lexington Avenue, New York City, and elected a committee of twelve. This committee was given full power to adopt a constitution and to elect officers to serve during the first term of the new association. This committee met at the Waldorf Hotel at 3 o’clock on 25th October 1919, and elected the officers of the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA):
President – Esther Lovejoy, United States.
Vice Presidents – Christine Murrell, England; L.Thuillier-Landry, France; Kristina Munch, Norway.
Recording Secretary – Marie Feyler, Switzerland.
Corresponding Secretary – Martha Welpton, United States”.
MWIA: Healing with the spirit and love of a mother.
Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi
MWIA President
Read the full MWIA September 2023 Newsletter here >>
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Events and Updates coordination by AFMW, on behalf of the Australian Federation of Medical Women (AFMW), its affiliated Australian state and territory partners and international networks and supporters. If you have an update or event you would like to share with us for Australian medical women, please contact us with details. Thank you.
