Some NGOs bear funny names, names that can hardly be associated with any seriousness. But News in Africa Online has found out that sometimes there is something in a name, even the one that sounds casual. “Midwives, and the mothers they care for, are heroines of global health” – H.E. Mrs Toyin Ojora Saraki
2017 was an important year for the work of the Wellbeing Foundation Africa (WBFA). It has however also been tinged with great sadness. Mrs. Felicity Aliana Ukoko, a ‘Midwife Champion’ who saved the lives of countless mothers and babies, passed away suddenly on Sunday 15th October.
Felicity’s work with the Foundation since 2015, as Head of Advocacy and Midwifery, had a profound impact on the lives of premature babies, their mothers and communities. She successfully championed the WBFA MamaCare Antenatal and Postnatal Program in Abuja, Kwara and Lagos States, utilizing her outstanding diligence and experience as a midwife in the UK to ensure vastly improved health outcomes. She will be sorely missed by her colleagues, WBFA midwives and mothers, and all whose lives she touched. Mrs. Ukoko is survived by her devoted husband Jonathan Ukoko; her daughters Melissa and Nasha; her mother; siblings and other family members.
The Global Health community also lost Professor Babatunde Osotimehin, Executive Director of UNFPA. The WBFA always found Professor Osotimehin to be an indefatigably diplomatic and committed ally in our mutual goal of improving the conditions and outcomes for pregnant mothers, their newborns, children, adolescents, and their communities. The WBFA will work closely alongside Professor Osotimehin’s replacement, Dr. Natalia Kanem, in her new role to achieve her stated aim of pursuing UNFPA’s new Strategic Plan 2018-2021 and its transformative goals: ending preventable maternal deaths, ending unintended pregnancies by meeting the demand for family planning, as well as ending gender-based violence and other harmful practices by 2030.
This year the Wellbeing Foundation Africa launched our sister organisation, Wellbeing For Women Africa, which is an online youth platform that allows young people to tell their story and get paid for each article they submit. This platform has given a voice to young people to discuss issues ranging from sexual abuse to mental illness. Discussions around these sensitive topics has given at least some relief to those who read these articles and know that they are not alone. Visit the Wellbeing for Women Africa site here.
The WBFA’s Founder-President, Mrs. Toyin Saraki, as a Global Champion for Universal Health Coverage (UHC), led high-level advocacy efforts last year, including at the United Nations 72nd General Assembly in New York in September. This advocacy was pursued by the Global Health community and matched by legislative progress in Nigeria. The Universal Health Coverage Forum convened in Tokyo last December and UHC is certain to be a major focus for the WBFA in 2018.
The WBFA is grateful to all those who helped to empower women and adolescent girls, advocating for universal health coverage and reducing maternal, newborn and child mortality rates in Africa.
