Los Angeles – Fourteen African First Ladies attended a two-day conference, "Leadership for Health: African First Ladies Health Summit," to discuss how they can be advocates for improving health services within their own countries. With keynote speeches from fellow First Ladies Maria Shriver and Sarah Brown, the event highlighted the need to engage in partnerships to try to improve the health and education of women and girls in African communities.
Updates
Celebration of Mother’s Night Around the World
April 21st, 2009
In an effort to generate widespread awareness on the extent of maternal death and injuries, the World Population Foundation (WPF) organized an event called "Mother's Night" on the eve of International Mother's Day. Ten different countries, including Malta, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, and Pakistan, celebrated and promoted safe motherhood at Mothers' Night events launched by WPF headquarters in the Netherlands.
Leadership for Health: What it Means to Be a First Lady
April 21st, 2009
Yesterday, the Leadership for Health: African First Ladies Health Summit kicked off to an amazing start. Maria Shriver gave a welcome speech to the participants of the meeting (over 300 people!) that was absolutely fantastic.
Leadership for Health: What to Tackle First?
April 21st, 2009
The First Ladies know the daunting tasks ahead of them: today one said so poignantly, “Illness has taken Africa hostage.” One delegate reminded us of the devastating toll that AIDS is taking on their economies; she described how AIDS is a multiplier of poverty, orphaning more children, killing more mothers, and reducing families to rubble.
Leadership for Health: Speech from Sarah Brown
April 21st, 2009
The following is the keynote address Sarah Brown delivered to the African First Ladies Health Summit today in Los Angeles, organized by USDFA and African Synergy. (Originally posted on HuffingtonPost)