Our Presiedent Leila Springer had the opportunity to meet with African Leaders at the G20. Here is what she said, "It was a great experience, everyone was there with their own agendas looking for the opportunity to table or share their concerns and mostly to network which I believe we all did a great deal of.
It was obvious that people were more concerned about business opportunities than the average person in Africa with health issues and the lack of support and resources. I used every opportunity I got to talk about our concerns, the present situation as we know it and what we are doing as an organization to support the women in Africa.
The event was attended by people from around the world, looking for business opportunities in Africa, mostly North Americans and mainly men. I made a lot of contacts, networked quite a bit and encouraged the business leaders to consider help for the women in rural areas with health issues who are mostly ignored for a variety of reasons.
I emphasized the importance of business development and investment but also the pressing need for providing and contributing to a healthy country. I received good reception from most, a few ran the other way because of my topic but in all it was a fruitful event for WCBCF.
Many who never heard of us both in North America and Africa, now know we exist and many are willing to sponsor some women to attend the conference so I have lots of letters to write.
Thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement, it was worth it, if for no other reason than our International Support Links project."
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
WCBCF to Meet with G20 African Leaders
Our President, Leila Springer, has been invited to attend a G20 Business Seminars with African Leaders.
At a recent International Support Links meeting, it was agreed that the WCBCF needs to maintain our commitment to the African continent while looking at including other underdeveloped countries. It was also agreed that we need to find out from the individuals we will be working with what was important to them and what help they needed to provide us with information which would enable us to enhance and plan an appropriate programs.
Attending this G20 meeting provides an opportunity to not only meet with the political leaders, which is important to plant seeds of possible change for the women working in these countries and raising awareness, but also meet some influential people who can be advocates for the women working in the health care system and in the communities back home.
The WCBCF has managed, through work with countries throughout the world, to get a solid sense of what barriers many women face: such as access, resources and cultural. The WCBCF is committed to making the needed connections to remove these barriers and the G20 Business Seminar is a step in the right direction.
At a recent International Support Links meeting, it was agreed that the WCBCF needs to maintain our commitment to the African continent while looking at including other underdeveloped countries. It was also agreed that we need to find out from the individuals we will be working with what was important to them and what help they needed to provide us with information which would enable us to enhance and plan an appropriate programs.
Attending this G20 meeting provides an opportunity to not only meet with the political leaders, which is important to plant seeds of possible change for the women working in these countries and raising awareness, but also meet some influential people who can be advocates for the women working in the health care system and in the communities back home.
The WCBCF has managed, through work with countries throughout the world, to get a solid sense of what barriers many women face: such as access, resources and cultural. The WCBCF is committed to making the needed connections to remove these barriers and the G20 Business Seminar is a step in the right direction.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
We are more than breasts
I find myself thinking about what I want to say next in this blog. Personal stories come to mind, observations from my wee corner of the earth, and things in the media and news all trigger different streams of thought. I’ve decided that today I will recount a story shared at the last world conference that really touched me. It was a talk given by a doctor and a survivor from a nation in Africa.
The speakers talked about the challenges they face in changing the stereotypical view of a breast cancer diagnosis and in getting to women to encourage early detection (which we all know is a key to successful treatment). The doctor stated that when a woman inadvertently finds a lump in her breast she often would not seek medical treatment because she automatically assumes that a breast cancer diagnosis is an instant death sentence. Given the late stage that a lump is so obviously detected, treatment would often be extreme, which has other more far reaching consequences due to the cultural significance of breasts and fertility and how that defines a woman.
The tools that the developed World used to aide in early detection, like a mammography machine, are not common place in most developing nations. The expense of this equipment imposes further barriers. The doctor sited that a mammography machine could be $1 million dollars. A mosquito net is $1 dollar. When 1 in 5 people die from malaria in his country the choice is obvious. 1 million mosquito nets – not 1 mammography machine.
Education and awareness becomes the only weapon in the arsenal to fight breast cancer to ensure woman can find their cancer early and then seek rapid treatment. The cultural shift is a greater obstacle – I learned that the deep rooted views on fertility and motherhood are such an important thread in the fabric of life. Somehow, we need to weave in a new thread that reinforces that a woman is so much more and can provide the love, care and contribution to her family and society with or without breasts.
The speakers talked about the challenges they face in changing the stereotypical view of a breast cancer diagnosis and in getting to women to encourage early detection (which we all know is a key to successful treatment). The doctor stated that when a woman inadvertently finds a lump in her breast she often would not seek medical treatment because she automatically assumes that a breast cancer diagnosis is an instant death sentence. Given the late stage that a lump is so obviously detected, treatment would often be extreme, which has other more far reaching consequences due to the cultural significance of breasts and fertility and how that defines a woman.
The tools that the developed World used to aide in early detection, like a mammography machine, are not common place in most developing nations. The expense of this equipment imposes further barriers. The doctor sited that a mammography machine could be $1 million dollars. A mosquito net is $1 dollar. When 1 in 5 people die from malaria in his country the choice is obvious. 1 million mosquito nets – not 1 mammography machine.
Education and awareness becomes the only weapon in the arsenal to fight breast cancer to ensure woman can find their cancer early and then seek rapid treatment. The cultural shift is a greater obstacle – I learned that the deep rooted views on fertility and motherhood are such an important thread in the fabric of life. Somehow, we need to weave in a new thread that reinforces that a woman is so much more and can provide the love, care and contribution to her family and society with or without breasts.
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