In 2020, World Health Organization African Regional Office (WHO AFRO) and United Nations Volunteers (UNV) launched the Africa Women Health Champions initiative. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa underpins the aim of this initiative where more than 145 young African women from 38 nationalities served as UN Volunteer health champions — these are her reflections.
The Africa Women Health Champions initiative is surely an investment in the African woman and through her, in the health of African people.
So why did I start this initiative?
I have been convinced for years that WHO, like many other organisations, needs far more women in leadership positions.
My 2015 election as the first woman WHO Regional Director for Africa was seen as historic and brought a window of change to WHO in the African region. Immediately, I strongly pursued gender equity in WHO. I pushed for the presence of women in leadership positions. Simultaneously, I saw the need for a bottom up approach with a vision to prepare women professionals early, becoming a pipeline for senior appointments.
Through a partnership with United Nations Volunteers, I started the Africa Women Health Champions initiative in 2020. Over the past years, it has attracted and placed more than 145 women health champions (data from August 2024).
Given the range of work that they do, the succession plan they represent, and the benefits to themselves — from mentorship to coaching and our geographical representation, the initiative has helped improve our work at WHO. This is an investment in the African woman.
One of the greatest joys as I travel around the region is interacting with these dynamic, knowledgeable and impactful young women.
Looking back on the initiative, I am proud that I started it.
We exceeded our target of 100 women health champions and reached 145 from 38 nationalities (data from August 2024). These young women aged between 22 and 35 contribute in 47 WHO country offices in Africa and in our regional office teams.
There's no aspect of WHO work that the health champions are not involved in.
Many of them work in technical health areas in communication, external relations, data management and emergency preparedness. I am impressed by their love for information technology (IT) and social media in support of healthcare.
Each time I meet them in my office or elsewhere — I am impressed by their stories.
They tell me of how they are getting hands-on experience, of how they are strengthening national health systems or communities, and of how they are networking with leaders and peers. It is such a rich and successful experience. They are definitely contributing to the impact of our work. Some have transferred to positions in WHO in Africa and to other regions.
I am very proud that this experience is being emulated in WHO worldwide.
I believe it is important for us to interpret this experience, learn from it and innovate technologically and administratively.
We should strengthen the focus on underserved communities and underrepresented countries, particularly the Portuguese speaking countries.
We should also promote more inclusion, bringing in more professional women with disabilities.
Another area for improvement is to reinforce the orientation and induction of volunteers as well as the continued briefing and guidance. We need to work in close partnerships with our other mentorship programmes and explore leadership and team performance programmes.
We must support their keeping connected to each other, sharing experiences, and supporting each other. We must also streamline the induction and administrative formalities and recruitment processes for more speed and agility. This is important in emergency settings where the lead time for deployment of personnel is often very short.
I have one piece of advice to give the young professionals. While getting technical skills in the healthcare sector is very important — remember that people skills always make a difference.
The ability to listen, empathize, communicate both orally and in writing is important.
Trust and emotional regulation.
Define how we work in a team and what results we achieve.
You should find mentors within the organization and support each other.
The video statement was edited for brevity and comformity with UNV web editorial style. To watch the original video, please click here or click on the YouTube video inserted above.