Population & Family Health

Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program Builds Partnerships with First Ladies at the African First Ladies Health Summit

First Ladies from 15 African nations attended the African First Ladies Health Summit in Los Angeles on April 20 and 21, pledging their shared commitment to improve health and education in their respective countries. Lynn Freedman, JD, MPH, director of Averting Maternal Death and Disability Program (AMDD) and professor of clinical Population and Family Health at the Mailman School, was among those gathered to contribute to the dialogue and build effective partnerships; also present were the UK’s First Lady Sarah Brown and California's First Lady Maria Shriver.

The goal of the Summit was to build on the unique position occupied by the First Ladies, which enables them to influence and effect change. They can play a key role in developing effective health systems, directing attention to high priority areas, recognizing the importance of women in society, and empowering girls. Panels at the Summit explored pragmatic and collaborative approaches to the key areas – HIV/AIDS, maternal, reproductive and child health, and girls’ education. Discussions focused on pressing challenges, laying the groundwork for potential partnerships between the First Ladies, the expert panelists, and their respective organizations.

Professor Freedman participated in the “Maternal Health: the Keystone of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG)” panel. Chaired by Mrs. Brown, wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, patron of the White Ribbon Alliance and co-chair of the Maternal Health Leadership Group, this panel examined the current state of maternal health. Participants drew connections between the importance of women surviving childbirth and a number of associated health and social factors, before focusing on best practices.

Said Professor Freedman, “Our aim is to work with the First Ladies to build partnerships and offer technical support to help implement projects that save the lives of women and newborns in their countries.”

To this end, AMDD will continue to collaborate with the First Ladies to forward the Summit’s goals, which include laying the groundwork for evidence-based approach to develop, implement, and monitor sustainable health and education programs and contributing to a coordinated global effort, whereby partners share best practices for effectively using technology to monitor, evaluate, and communicate progress.

The Summit was hosted by U.S. Doctors for Africa, a humanitarian organization that sends volunteer medical professionals from the U.S. to underserved regions of Africa, and African Synergy, a non-governmental organization comprised of 22 First Ladies predominantly from Africa. The African First Ladies in attendance represented Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia, as well as the Kenyan prime minister's wife and a delegation from Gambia. Other organizers include the RAND Corporation, Vital Voices Global Partnership, White Ribbon Alliance, ONE, and UCLA. Procter & Gamble and General Electric were the lead sponsors.

View an interview with Professor Freedman at the Summit on Global Health TV.