Ola Orekunrin is a medical doctor, helicopter pilot and managing director of the Flying Doctors Nigeria Ltd, West Africa's first air ambulance service and a crucial link for critically injured people who, like many across the continent, are far away from hospital care. Along the way, Orekunrin has become a passionate advocate for finding African …
When Jane Otai walks through the Nairobi slums, she is no stranger. No stranger to the women living in corrugated-metal shacks or worse, no stranger to the poverty, overcrowded conditions and health problems devastating families. Most of all, she is no stranger to the huge boost that family planning services can provide for the urban …
Jacques Sebisaho, MD, is from one of the remotest places in Africa: Idjwi island in Lake Kivu between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. While neighboring countries have been beset by wars and violence Idjwi has remained a peaceful oasis, albeit one left behind by many development advances that have been made in better-known …
At a young age, Arinaitwe lost his parents and four siblings to infectious diseases, which included HIV/AIDS in rural western Uganda. As an “AIDS orphan” (a phrase which he uses critically), he experienced the often-problematic international development system first hand. In his essay, he wrote, “I encountered a republic of NGOs claiming their legitimacy in …
A physician by training, Asfaw has dedicated her professional and personal life to advancing the cause of girls and women for the past 18 years. As country director for EngenderHealth, her primary foci are encouraging family planning, promoting maternal health and ensuring quality of health care. She also led the first USAID supported project for …