The Pan African Women in Health (PAWH) is proud to join in celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD). This day is a reminder to celebrate progress. It is also a day to call attention to barriers women continue to face that impede gender inclusion.
This year’s theme, Embrace Equity, speaks to the core of who we are as individuals and a collective. We address equity by empowering women to achieve self-efficacy professionally, personally, emotionally, and socially. We achieve this through the bonds of our deep and true sisterhood, our trademark.
PAWH is a collective of women health professionals from across Africa and the African diaspora that focuses on empowering women who play a critical role in the health sector. Our members are health professionals, policymakers, researchers, and solutions developers with various levels of expertise and experience, from entry-level to seasoned women, with a common goal: they are ready to change the narrative and the status quo.
Equity, better access to opportunity, and collaboration are the fiber of our PAWH community’s DNA. We’re all dedicated to improving access to health care and health outcomes in Africa and worldwide.
While we’re all trained in our respective fields, we haven’t escaped challenges that limit opportunities for health disparities. One of the ways that PAWH is working to address these challenges is by leveraging the power of digital technology. Technology has become an essential tool in advancing the status of women in Africa, particularly in the area of health. Digital technology is fundamental in the fight for women’s rights and health equity across Africa. We know first-hand the transformative nature of digital tools. Our digital community, which consists of over 220 African women in health, is entirely virtual. In four years, we have reached Africans in different corners of the world, from the lab scientist working in the Gambia, the Zimbabwean nurseworking on a pacific island, and the pharma executive working in Canada. The group has curated and developed digital resources such as webinars and an open environment to share information in real-time, employment and training opportunities on reproductive health, maternal and child health, and preventing and managing diseases like HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. Furthermore, we have created a space to support personal and career growth through leveraging mentorship, coaching members to prepare for job and training opportunities, and cultivating networking among our members.
For PAWH, digital technology has provided a platform for women to share and learn from each other’s experiences, challenges, opportunities, and best practices. We have used technology to amplify our voices and empower each other to influence healthcare decisions for women, girls, and people across Africa. In addition, our community has leveraged digital technology to connect women from diverse backgrounds and geographic locations and emboldened each other to power forward to address the unique health needs across Africa and in underserved communities. There was a time, before joining the PAWH sisterhood, when many of the women in our group felt isolated in their career journeys (or professional careers/career path), and this was especially exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the new ways of working. PAWH members previously navigated local, national, regional, and global health environments with little support and did not belong to a network of open and liked -minded people. PAWH changed that for many of our members.
PAWH was timely as it created a degree of deep and true sisterhood. And by leveraging digital resources, PAWH is ensuring that every African woman in health, no matter where they are in their lives, career path, or geographic location, feels connected to a virtual community of women from all corners of the continent who are ready to champion and serve as their sister’s keeper. We are Ubuntu.