Our 2021 Annual Reflection
Dear Friends,
Over the last two years, as we grappled with a global pandemic, we have been reminded daily that the resource inequities in health are tremendous—and inexcusable. The pandemic has tried and tested all of us. At Seed Global Health (Seed), it has also heightened our commitment to continue strengthening the health workforce to ensure quality, dignified care for every person where and when they need it.
Amid the constant disruptions and uncertainty of the pandemic, women—who make up a majority of the health workforce but are often left out of leadership positions—have continued to light the path to more equitable, healthier communities. They have been at the frontlines—providing care at the last mile, training the next generation of providers, advocating for their communities, and championing supportive policies.
Through our partnerships and work, Seed has intentionally aimed to raise the voices, ensure recognition, and promote the impact of these women leaders. In the first season of our podcast, Patterns & Meaning, women nurse and midwife leaders discussed what it will take to decolonize global health and ensure equity. Through their perspectives, they challenge all of us to imagine and act ambitiously, aiming to treat not just today’s problem, but solve for tomorrow’s by addressing the root causes.
In Malawi, we collaborated with midwifery pioneers to reinstitute the country’s first midwifery-led maternity ward to ensure women get respectful and responsive care. In Sierra Leone, our team of midwife educators joined the midwifery faculty at the School of Midwifery, Makeni to train the institution’s students in providing quality and contextual maternal and child health services.
In Uganda, women emergency care physicians, supported by Seed, continued to advocate for investments in a nationwide emergency care system and the training of emergency care providers. In Zambia, we helped graduate the first family physician from the University of Zambia’s inaugural Family Medicine Master of Medicine Program class. Upon graduation, she reinvested her new skills and experience to teach in the program while providing care in her community.
Evidence from the past two years and beyond has taught us that health care is about investing in people for the long-term. It starts with a deeper and proactive appreciation of the power of health for our wellbeing, investments in the health workforce and women’s leadership, and action to close the inequity gaps that hold us all back.
In our 2021 reflection, we invite you to see the transformation that follows when women lead. Together, we are challenging the status quo and improving health outcomes where people live, work, and play.
In solidarity,
Dr. Vanessa Kerry
CEO, Seed Global Health
