Dame Dr. Claribel Abam – MWIA Regional Vice President for Near East and Africa
Registration of new national associations and Individual Members.
The Regional Vice President has been in touch with the leadership of the National Associations of Chad, Cote D’ Ivoire and Gambia to ensure the completion of their full registration with MWIA. So far, the process has been completed for Cote D’ Ivoire with 372 members and Dr AIME Aka Sandrine as its National President. Tentative approval has been given by MWIA EXCO for the registration of Chad and Gambia. The process for the establishment of a National Association of medical women in Rwanda has commenced. Hopefully, this will be concluded soon. Applications have been received and approved for individual members from Sudan.
Engagement with leadership of National Associations
Members of the 15 national associations have been implementing the MWIA strategic plan as integrated into their national programs. This report highlights activities reported by Medical Women’s Association of Ghana (MWAG), Women In Medicine Lesotho (WIML), Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) and Medical Women’s Association of Zambia (MWAZ). It covers activities centred on the following areas.
Advocacy and Policy Engagements
MWAN hosted a parallel event at the United Nations NGOs Commission on the Status of Women (NGO CSW 69) in March 2025 where it showcased accelerated actions taken to improve maternal health. It also made commitments to continue pushing for gender parity. It participated at the MWIA CSW Side event and uses #MWIA in all social media posts.
Observance of Global Health Days
MWAN celebrated World Cancer Day through stakeholders’ engagement in the policy landscape on research, funding and strategic direction for reducing childhood cancers and partnerships for improving access to care. In addition, Cervical Cancer awareness month, Prematurity Day, Female Genital Mutilation Day, and International Women’s Day on March 8th were widely celebrated across all the states in Nigeria.
MWAG held its maiden World Oral Health Day event on March 28, 2025 and World Hand Hygiene Day on May 5, 2025. It marked International Women’s Day on March 8, 2025 with a panel discussion on gender equity and empowerment. MWAG’s Eastern Regional Chapter marked the World Menstrual Hygiene Day on May 28 2025 through a menstrual hygiene education campaign in Akwatia for 500 basic schoolgirls. Other regions provided support by distributing over 1,000 pads to girls in their areas.
Mentorship
Women in Medicine Lesotho (WIML) conducts Continuous Professional Development (CPD) activities through 17 mentorship groups across specific medical specialties. In line with this plan, a 3-day training for an emergency medicine mentorship group was held in May 2025.
Medical Women’s Association of Zambia (MWAZ) has been running a mentorship program since 2023 with the current cohort running for 6 months being the fourth. The process involves monthly seminars. The latest commenced on 18th May 2025 with 16 mentors and 18 mentees.
Medical Women’s Association of Nigeria (MWAN) States and National committees organized training workshops and seminars to enhance the skills and competencies of members including offering CME points.
yMWAG led by Dr. Ewurama Danquah Tawiah organised a webinar themed “Ever-Burning Lady Doctor: How to Overcome Burnout.” for about 100 participants from various medical specialities, including male attendees
Research, Grants and Innovation:
MWAN submitted an expression of interest for 8 grant opportunities and is currently implementing i) the Pathfinder HPV Prevention project ii) HSRC project on MMR vaccination iii) AIM MNCNH Project iv) Ford Foundation grant to eliminate FGM in Rivers State, Nigeria.
The outcome of some of them have been presented at the WACP and SOGON conferences and published in PubMed.
Meetings
The MWAG Triennial General Congress was held from January 17–18, 2025 with the theme “Championing the Health of Women to Secure the Wealth of the Nation: The Role of Lady Doctors.” It culminated in the election of a new executive led by Dr Richardar Dawson as President.
MWAN held quarterly meetings to ensure effective leadership and governance within the organization. i) National Executive Council meeting 16th – 17th January 2025 in Jos, Plateau State which discussed scaling up of cancer control and HPV vaccination. ii) A virtual NEC meeting and National webinar on reducing maternal mortality under the AIM-MNCNH grant held on 26th April 2025.
Other Service Provision activities
MWAZ Cervical Cancer Awareness Campaign took place in January 2025 in eight locations with the theme “Prevent Through Screening” The methods adopted included Health talks & community engagements, Radio Engagement, Hospital-based Outreach, March-past, and public engagement
MWAG’s Project HANDS in collaboration with St Dominic’s Catholic church conducted cervical cancer screenings across nine sites in the Denkyembour District. Nine hundred and twenty women aged 21 and 62 were screened, with follow-up care provided for positive cases.
Conclusion
National Associations in the region have continued to improve on their engagement in advocacy, service delivery, receipt of grants and research. Some of them have not cultivated the habit of reporting their activities regularly. It is vital to note that visibility is created for MWIA with each report, and this attracts partnership which further strengthens the capacity of the organization to deliver on its mandate. I am proud to serve this region as its Vice President.
Dr Claribel Abam
Regional Vice President MWIA NEAR