July 1, 2018 – At the International Economic Forum of the Americas that took place in Montreal from June 11th through June 14th, 2018, a delegation of SsahiPath, cordially invited by Levesque Strategies in Montreal, Canada, was given the opportunity to talk about the goals and vision of SsahiPath but also the opportunity to build relationships, expend its network, and attract potential partners and investors. During these networking sessions and intense discussion Ssahipath signed a new partnership agreement with MAFUBO International Federation, an association based in Montreal, Canada and focused in improving the lifestyle of African faculties through their main pillars: women! As well as the emancipation of African woman through financial freedom and through access to decent accommodation. MAFUBO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION works in togetherness with African cities to fight against marital violence and other abuses against women in urban environments, access to appropriate medical services for treatment of woman’s reproductive organs diseases especially cancers. The association also promotes decent schooling conditions that guarantee equality of chances of access to proper education even to young girls from poor rural areas.
This new partnership agreement was signed by co-Founders of Ssahipath, Mr. Jacques NdoutouMve, CEO and Dr. Erick Tidiane, President and CTO. Representing MAFUBO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION was Dr. Hon Monique Mujawamariya, Founder and President. Also present during this work session were Mr. Francois Emungania, Director of Community Outreach for SsahiPath in Quebec and Mr. Irénée Rutema, Senior Consultant, Strategy and Business Outreach for Levesque Strategies & Affaires Publiques. SsahiPath and MAFUBO understand that Women constitute a key link in the chain of development actions worldwide. For women to be able to fulfill their role in society, however, they need to be in a state of adequate physical, mental and social well-being. Unfortunately, the huge majority of African women are still unaware of their fundamental rights to health, education and life, and suffer from ill-health and sub-standard living condition. The goal of this partnership between the Sub-Sharan Africa Healthcare Initiative and MAFUBO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION include scaling up women's health-related interventions; using the primary health care approach to effectively deliver women's health interventions; strengthening the capacity of women, families and communities to prevent diseases; and empowering them economically to enable them to take appropriate decisions related to their health and economical status.
The importance to strengthen existing multi-sectoral bodies to advocate for the implementation of international conventions and instruments related to women's health and development adopted by countries are among the top priorities for both organizations. These include the Millennium Development Goals and the Ouagadougou Declaration on Primary Health Care and Health Systems. Therefore, the Sub-Sharan Africa Healthcare Initiatives and MAFUBO INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION are looking to:
Set up a multidisciplinary technical team composed of experts in health, gender and human rights to identify priority interventions for effective scaling up of, and resource mobilization for, women's health in all geographical areas of interest. The team should have clear terms of reference in order to assess and monitor trends in women's health.
Scale up essential interventions related to women's health with special emphasis on rural areas. It is important to expand coverage of services, enhance the skills of health workers (skilled birth attendants) and social workers, and improve the existing facilities with particular emphasis on referral systems and availability of medicines in order to provide quality, timely and affordable care for women.
Use primary health care approach in line with the Ouagadougou Declaration to deliver women's health interventions. It is also essential to improve the utilization of services by women in general and by pregnant women in particular through active involvement of men and community participation. Men's involvement is important to address financial and geographical barriers to women's access to essential health services.
Strengthen the capacity of women, families and communities to prevent diseases by providing them with information on appropriate care and on the risk of diseases is crucial. Women should be economically empowered to access health services and to take appropriate decisions related to their health and sexuality.
Develop an integrated communication plan to increase understanding of the importance of women's roles and promote societal attitude change towards women. This plan should be comprehensive and interactive to address all the major obstacles to women's health. The relationship between the health of the mother and the well-being of the child should be reflected in this plan.
This partnership is a good start to developing connections and collaborative working relationships with organizations and government agencies in sub-Sahara Africa, as ssahipath strongly believes that tacking issues such as better access to care and healthcare delivery efficiency for our community will remain a group effort.
Sub-Saharan Africa Healthcare Initiative
