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 name is Sadoscar Hakizimana. I am from Burundi. I am a medical doctor by profession. I started my volunteer assignment roughly two years ago — in August 2022.

Dr Sonia Bako (Niger) is an Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with UNFPA. On her watch at Buba Health Centre, Quinara region, maternal deaths have been reduced drastically. 

In this role, my responsibilities span programme management and coordination, operational guidance, partnership building and capacity building. I ensure mothers and children receive quality integrated healthcare services. I collaborate with district health workers from community to national levels. Together, we remove hurdles hindering mothers and children from accessing quality health services. I help them plan their activities based on evidence and best practices.

Fatima-Zahra has been a volunteer for the civil society since 2008. After she began her UN Volunteer assignment, she wanted to connect with people especially youth, women and girls who benefit from UNFPA initiatives. In her role, she documents stories centering on issues of stigma and reasons that prevent women, girls, and youth from fulfilling their potential such as child marriage, early pregnancy, maternal death, and gender-based violence.

Daniel Valbuena

Within two weeks of arriving, Ami started bleeding – enough to warrant a visit to a health centre. But workers at the centre were on strike, so she was sent to another facility, which didn’t have an ultrasound machine to diagnose her condition. 

In Benin, UNFPA has established a network of Youth Champions committed to fighting gender-based violence. They serve with a project that targets gender-based violence prevention, protection and empowerment of girls and women in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and is funded by Canada.

Why volunteering? Because I strongly believe in the values of volunteering. To me volunteerism is an authentic form of expressing motivation; it is an occasion to get deeply invested in a mission, to be able to contribute with our skills and competencies where really needed. Volunteering is about being part of the change, it’s an occasion for our human side to prevail upon our personal interests.

In East and Southern Africa, the achievement of SDG 3 is particularly crucial. According to WHO, Sub-Saharan Africa “confronts the world’s most dramatic public health crisis”.  Mortality among children under 5 years of age remains high, with a rate of 84 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2015. The incidence of HIV infection is still highest in sub-Saharan Africa, with 1.5 new infections per 1,000 uninfected people in 2015. In 2016, sub-Saharan Africa was home to 90 per cent of malaria cases and 91 per cent of malaria deaths.