International women's health coalition (IWHC) is an international nongovernmental organization, it's one of the most active global feminist organizations.
It advocates a just and sustainable world where all people, regardless of gender, enjoy their rights and health and have power over their lives.
It advances women's and girl's rights, health, and equality worldwide especially adolescent girls in Africa, Asia Latin America, and the Middle East.
Founding of The International Women's Health Coalition:
The International Women's health coalition was founded in 1984 by Joan Dunlop and Adrienne Germain. The headquarter is in New York.
The International Women's Health Coalition assisted in the creation and strengthening of 80 such organizations in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East,75 of them were created in the first 25 years in 10 countries.
The IWHC receives financing from private foundations, United Nations agencies, European governments, and corporations.
It donates $1.5 to $2 million annually to feminist organizations around the world.
The IWHC has always maintained its commitment that the board of directors consists of international members
The International Women's Health Coalition Activities and Missions:
The International Women's Health Coalition protects and supports the sexual and reproductive rights of women worldwide, particularly adolescent girls, access to health care for women and young people, access to safe abortion and AIDs prevention and treatment among women, It promotes gender equality for women, It fights violence against and exploitation of women. It also provides education and training to local activities and grants to local women's organizations.
How does The International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) advance Its Mission?
The International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) advances its agenda and mission by supporting leaders and organizations working at the community, national, regional, global levels, and by advocating for international and US policies, programs, and funding.
The International Women's Health Coalition connects women and young people in the global south to key decision-makers to build bridges between local realities and international policy by raising and bringing local voices into international discussions, to make policies more understandable and actionable at the local and international level.
What Does The International Women's Health Coalition Do?
● Advance Global Policies:
The International Women's Health Coalition brings ideas to international negotiations on women's rights and health.
It plays an active role at the United Nations and collaborates with governments and global health policymakers.
It works to ensure that U.S foreign policy and funding promote the health and rights of women and adolescents.
It advocates with governments and the United Nations to advance policies that will promote the health and rights of women and young people, especially adolescent girls.
IWHC is a bold and independent force for women's sexual and reproductive rights.
It brings women and young activists into the highest halls of power at the United Nations and Washington to make their voices heard.
● Build Young Leaders:
The International Women's Health Coalition empowers activists to become the new champions of the global women's movement.
Since 2007, IWHC has mentored and identified from around the world to advocate for national and global policies that advance sexual and reproductive rights.
It founded a workshop for preparing young people for international negotiations with the United Nations diplomats and government officials and called it Advocacy In Practice (AIP). The AIP gives young women and young people the leadership and advocacy skills they need to support sexual and reproductive rights at the National and global levels.
The AIP includes multi-day training and involves deep learning and team building.
Participants develop a common language to address sexual and reproductive health and rights and use techniques such as role-play to approach their government officials.
The AIP workshops are held before by major UN meetings and regional conferences to enable participants to apply their advocacy skills. After that, Activists return to their home countries better equipped to squeeze their governments for policies in support of sexual and reproductive health and rights.
● Grantmaking:
The International Women's Health Coalition provides support to organizations in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
These supported organizations are securing access to safe and legal abortion, ending child marriage, providing comprehensive sexuality education, gender equality, and building safe communities for women and girls.
Board of Directors:
● Kathleen Regan - Chair
● Alexander M. Farman-Farmaian - ViceChair
● Helena Choi - secretary
● Kirtna Pai - treasurer
● George Biddle
● Stuart C. Burden
● John E.craig, Jr.
● Catherine A. Gallery
● Christine Grumm
● Susan Nitze
● Marnie A.Pillsbury
● Jameela Pedicini
● Diana L. Taylor
The International women's Health Coalition History:
Several international conferences were held under the auspices of the United Nations throughout the 1990s and early 2000s to stress attention and focus on the rights of women and adolescents, and their sexual and reproductive health.
IWHC worked for mobilizing women and adolescents for participating in these conferences, Particularly the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) that was held in Cairo in 1994.
During the years that followed several Conferences held including the Fourth World Conference on Women (Bijing 1995), the five years implementation reviews of ICPD (New York 1999), and the World Conference on Women(Bijing+5, New York, 2000), and the United Nations General Assembly Special Sessions on HIV/AIDS (New York, 2000) and Children (New York, 2002). These Conferences strengthened and advanced the commitments made at Cairo.
The IWHC collaborated with international feminist alliances like HERA (Health, Empowerment, Rights, and Accountability) to continue mobilizing women and young people to participate in these Conferences.
IWHC succeeded in convincing governments to focus on safe abortion, HIV prevention, Contraception, and obstetric care.
IWHC always supported local advocates who depend on these agreements as a tool to lobby their governments for ensuring women and adolescents' sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Today, The International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC) is at the center of two intertwined and key global policy debates that will set the agenda on health and sustainable development for the coming decades.
How to Contact The IWHC?
Address: 333 Seventh Avenue.
6th Floor
New York, NY
10001 USA
Phone Number: 2129708500
Mail: info@iwhc.org
Summary
Our dewtreats for you today is that International women's health coalition (IWHC) is one of the best organisations that advances women's and girl's rights.
Written by/Heba Shady
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