UBC Africa Awareness Initiative 2018 Conference Week #EndFistula

By: Habiba Cooper Diallo

VANCOUVER, I was recently invited to the University of British Columbia (UBC) to give a keynote address about obstetric fistula as part of the Africa Awareness Initiative Conference Week 2018. I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to Kwezi, Towela and the entire AAI team for their heart-warming welcome and a fantastic two days at the conference! I'd like to thank Ikheyla as well for her amazing support!

So excited to share photos from my interview at UBC Africa Awareness Initiative Conference Week 2018. The theme was "Africa Rising" and I had the great pleasure to be interviewed by @kwezii Rutega in regards to whether or not Africa is "rising" in the area of maternal health. I loved the thought-provoking questions raised by the audience during Q&A around data collection and surgeon training for fistula care. Yes, it is true that while there's data about the number of women living with fistula and their access to care, way more research is left to be done. And one of the biggest barriers in fistula care is the delay in treatment- there aren't enough surgeons who are specialized in fistula repair surgery. We need more doctors and medical school graduates to take an interest in working in fistula care. Sadly, what this delay in treatment means for the women and girls who have fistula is that less than one percent of them will get treatment in their lifetime... Less than one percent. Thanks @ubc_aai for the warm welcome- the turnout was great. #Endfistula #africa #Canada #ubc #medicine #women #Girls #healthcare #Obstetricfistula #Policy #Prioritize #Conferenceweek2018

A post shared by Habiba Diallo (@yeshialem_fistula) on Feb 12, 2018 at 9:48pm PST

More photos for you all from my keynote at the closing ceremony of UBC's Africa Awareness Initiative Conference Week. I'm pictured with AAI president, Nkiru Ani @ani_ona My interview focused on my work to build awareness about fistula via my nonprofit WHOI, my book, and very importantly Africa's progress in the area of maternal health. While there remains a lot of work to be done, some country statistics are impressive: ♦Rwanda met the 2015 UN Millenium Development Goal 5 for maternal health. In 1995 , a year out of the genocide, Rwanda's maternal mortality rate was at 1260 deaths/100 000 live births. By 2015, they reduced their maternal mortality by over half, to roughly 300 deaths per 100 000 live births When countries start priotitizing maternal health care at the level of policy implementation, we will see progress. The key lies in PRIORITIZING. I can't wait to share photos from my interview with AAI co-vp external, Kwezi Rutega @kwezii @ubc_aai #ubc #endfistula #aaiconferenceweek2018 #Africa #canada #africanstudies #Health #maternal #women #Talks #students #Rwanda #un #milleniumdevelopmentgoals

A post shared by Habiba Diallo (@yeshialem_fistula) on Jan 22, 2018 at 3:43pm PST