The campaign marked International Youth Day and was made possible through a partnership with the Iraqi Ministry of Health and the United Nations entities, including the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Volunteers, the World Food Programme and the World Health Organization.

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.

 

"Our team specializes in the development of investment cases for health, spanning non-communicable diseases, tobacco and alcohol control, air pollution, primary health care, health tax revenue and road safety," states Luis D'Souza, Policy Analyst with UNDP HIV, Health and Development, Türkiye.

Medical, technical, administration and communications expertise

Launched on International Women's Day 2023, AWHC phase two will span over the course of two years and recruit young women professionals between 22 and 35 years as UN Volunteer health champions across WHO Country Offices in Africa. 

Following the successful implementation of the first phase, the AWHC initiative continues its mission of placing young African women professionals aged between 22 and 35 years as UN Volunteer health champions across WHO Country Offices in Africa. Through the initiative, WHO-AFRO and UNV commit to improving health for people on the continent, expanding opportunities for African public health professionals, and nurturing the next generation of women health leaders in Africa, while contributing to gender parity for the WHO workforce.

Joelma Pereira is an international UN Volunteer from Guinea Bissau. She is a Communications Officer with UNDP stationed with WHO in Mozambique. She takes pride in being a health champion, and documents key initiatives related to environmental health, climate change, and the misinformation about COVID-19 vaccinations. Joelma also oversees partnerships between WHO and different stakeholders in the health and humanitarian sector at WHO Regional Office for Africa. 

In a region with some of the highest rates of disease outbreaks in the world, the Africa Women Health Champions initiative provides young women from the continent with the opportunity to serve to improve the health and wellbeing of people in Africa.

Our rallying cry as the United Nations is to leave no one behind. --Lionel Laurens, UNDP Resident Representative, speaking at the launch of the COVID-19 mass community outreach campaign