Day 3, June 9, 2010
Delivering for Women At the Community Level
On the third day of the Women Deliver conference in Washington D.C., conversation shifted from the past and present to the future, as participants and speakers began discussing the way forward. One of the largest international gatherings on women’s health issues to date, the discussions that have come out of the meeting have the potential to create enormous change – they come at a critical time, when energy is high and the powerful are engaged. But as six inspiring young panelists from varying countries joined PSI Board Member Ashley Judd at the opening plenary, it became clear that women and girls deliver only when their communities allow them to do so. These conversations take us but so far – what we need is action, something that can produce tangible, sustainable impact. That action is happening every day, in communities – urban cities and rural villages – around the world.
Narges Nemat, a young woman working with the Women’s Refugee Commission, said it perhaps most powerfully when she encouraged media at the morning press conference: “Don’t think of girls in conflict areas as helpless victims, they’re strong agents of change.” In fact, we often forget this and assume that we must provide the answer. Narges reminds us that often the answer has existed there for quite some time – she rides her bike down dirt roads and accompanies her mother to the river for water. She simply needs our support and the opportunity to bring her voice to the table and actively participate in the conversation. In that same press conference, longtime advocate for African peace Leymah Gbowee posed the question: what are we doing in the international community to ensure that women on the ground can make change? It’s a question that must remain in the front of our minds as we work to develop a comprehensive framework through which to best address maternal and reproductive health.
At PSI, we understand the importance of community involvement in reaching those in need. Today, President & CEO Karl Hoffman presented PSI’s use of community-based programs to increase access to family planning products and services. Through a variety of models, including community outreach, integration of services and technological advancements like hot lines, we’ve found that a successful community-based program is led by the community members those programs serve. In Guatemala, this has resulted in more than 110,000 women reached with family planning through community health educators since 2009, while in Myanmar we’ve seen an integration of services through a franchised health care system grow to include over 750 Community Based Agents who cover nearly one million people in 37 townships throughout the country. It’s these agents who are the true heroes, the real change makers creating measurable impact on the ground, and they must be part of the broader conversation as we move forward.
Over the past three days, we’ve joined countless others at the Women Deliver Conference – we’ve sat by midwives and CEOs, passed the Dean of any number of Public Health programs in the halls, and even been graced by the passing of a celebrity or two – both Hollywood and Academic – lending their voice to the cause. But the true VIPs are those who come from the front lines to share their stories of hope and courage. They are living proof that our unified effort is making a difference – we’re saving lives – but we are far from over. MP Keith Martin of Canada, urged today that “what we need is courage, commitment and focus…and together we will save lives.” The majority of this exists on the front lines, in communities where strong women are taking bold stances for the health of their communities and their futures. Their voices, their actions, will create sustainable change. Perhaps our role is to simply serve as mentors, providing the opportunity for their voices to be heard and their actions realized.
Additional Information
- Daily Update Day 1
- Daily Update Day 2
- Learn more about PSI’s Reproductive Health programs.
