MarketPlace

Kenyan among 10 winners of global maternal health award

mon

A Kenyan medic is among the 10 winners of the inaugural Maternal Health Visionary Award.

Westone Khisa Wakasiaka, fistula surgeon and obstetrician at the Kenyatta National Hospital was recognised among 10 distinguished pioneers from around the world for their commitment to advancing women’s health worldwide.

Others feted were Fatemeh Ahmadi from Iran, Pushpa Chaudhary from Nepal, Joia Crear-Perry from United States, Darwin Dela Cruz Diaz, Nurse Activity Manager in Bangladesh and Hawa Abdullahi Elmi from Somalia.

Others are Lealaiauloto Liai Iosefa-Siitia, Executive Director of the Samoa Family Health Association in Samoa, Theresa Shaver from United States,Özge Tunçalp, Scientist at the World Health Organization, Switzerland and Linda Valencia, Senior Program Officer in Guatemala.

The award recognises individuals who have made an impact, pushed for innovation, inspired others, exhibited sound leadership and demonstrated a powerful vision for the future of maternal health.

“We are delighted to offer this Visionary Award to 10 leaders who have made a significant impact on advancing maternal health worldwide,” said Dr Ana Langer, director of the Maternal Health Task Force and professor of the practice of public health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

“As we celebrate the past 10 years of the Maternal Health Task Force, we want to recognize the important achievements of our collective efforts and those of these talented individuals that will help keep us on the path towards our goal of ending preventable maternal mortality and morbidity worldwide.”

In addition to the Visionary Award announcement, the Maternal Health Task Force hosted a Symposium in Boston on September 17 to celebrate its anniversary, showcase achievements in global maternal health and chart a course forward for critical steps to end preventable maternal mortality and optimize maternal health around the world.

Distinguished speakers at the event included Dr Joyce Banda, former President of Malawi; Christy Turlington Burns, founder and CEO of Every Mother Counts; Nina Martin, reporter at ProPublica; and Dr Mary-Ann Etiebet, executive director of Merck for Mothers.