This international Women’s Day, HealthNet TPO is celebrating the achievements of just some of the inspirational women we work with who lead, inspire and motivate change in their communities.
Dr Freba Azizi
“If a woman believes in herself, she must only decide and act, no matter how difficult the task is.”
Pushed to breaking point, Afghanistan’s hospitals have struggled to make it through the ongoing humanitarian and economic crisis to provide vital care for Afghan people who face extreme poverty, hunger and rising disease. As coordinator for the HealthNet TPO-run Afghan-Japan hospital in Kabul, Dr. Freba Azizi has been a leading figure in ensuring the hospital’s doors remained open.
When COVID-19 hit Afghanistan, Dr. Freba Azizi led HealthNet TPO’s response to the pandemic. She was integral in setting up dedicated COVID-19 hospitals in Nagarhar and Kunar provinces and taking over the coordination of the Afghan-Japan Hospital, the largest COVID-19 hospital in the country and the only one offering treatment for COVID-19 in Kabul. When faced with shortages in oxygen, medicines and medical supplies, Dr. Freba and her team worked night and day to ensure that patients could still be treated.
Then, following the takeover of power in August 2021, Afghanistan plunged into further humanitarian crisis. The freezing of international funds left the aid-reliant economy in crisis and the health system has faced collapse. At the Afghan-Japan hospital many staff could not continue to work as salaries could not be paid. Essential medicines ran out, food for patients had to be brought in by relatives – if they could afford it, and canisters with vital oxygen needed for the treatment of COVID-19 patients lay empty. With Dr. Freba’s dedication to the hospital, it’s services, and the patients who rely on it, she continues to spearhead a team through the crisis, allowing the hospital’s doors to remain open.
“In spite of not getting paid, my team and I promised to continue working hard to treat and help the patients. We made lots of sacrifices along the way to keep the hospital running. We were motivating other doctors not to leave the hospital. This time was tough and the only thing that kept us on track was the people. We served the people in hard times; if not for my colleagues, the hospital would have collapsed, and many lives would have been lost. We can say that in Afghanistan, the factor that stopped and cured COVID-19 was Afghan-Japan and it’s wonderful hardworking team”.
Her passion and dedication to her role was shown in our documentary of the crisis “Afghanistan’s Healthcare System is on the Brink of Collapse”. She expressed, “for years we’ve struggled, studied and worked in the most difficult situations. But now we must witness all our achievements vanish before our eyes. And the health system we worked so hard to improve might collapse.”
Dr. Freba has been a leading figure within HealthNet TPO’s programmes in Afghanistan for 20 years, managing programmes within reproductive health, community midwifery education (CME), urban health, public-private partnership, provision of health care services, gender-based violence and the promotion of women’s leadership skills and support for the prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (PSEAH) within the organisation and projects.
Read our latest update on the crisis Afghanistan and our programmes here.
Modi Philip Joshua
“Now I am equipped with the right knowledge and capabilities to help other women and girls in my community”.
Modi is one of over 50 psychosocial focal persons (PFPs) helping women and girls in her community in Yambio, South Sudan.
After overcoming an abusive marriage and leaving her husband, she went back to school to study engineering, all while supporting her daughter. Now she advocates for women rights in her community. As a PFP she is often the first point of call for many women and girls affected by gender-based violence (GBV), providing basic psychosocial support and bringing women together in Yambio. Modi has been creating awareness on issues to do with gender-based violence and believes that every woman deserves the opportunity to work and make a living for herself without having to be dependent on a man.
“The training on GBV case management and psychosocial support looked into most of the issues that are affecting our people in the community. I’m glad to have been part of this training because so much came up that I can reflect back to. Now I am equipped with the right knowledge to go help my people in the community”.
Gender-based violence is one of the most critical threats to the protection and wellbeing of women and children in South Sudan. One in two women suffer from violence at the hands of an intimate partner, a figure that is greater than worldwide. Women and girls are at even higher risk of violence in conflict and humanitarian crises like in South Sudan.
Find out more about Modi and the PFPs’ work supporting women and girls in South Sudan.
Jeanne Ndayiragije
“As a community health worker, my mission is to provide education for good health and disease prevention in my community.”
Jeanne meets regularly with many members of her community in Ngozi, Burundi to identify health issues and provide education on good hygiene and disease prevention, focussing on promoting good mental health and breaking down barriers for mental health recovery.
The long-term impacts of the civil war in Burundi linger in the form of poverty and mental illness. Mental health is not adequately addressed and up to 95% of people who require mental health assistance do not receive the care they need, particularly in rural areas. Mental health services are often not provided by health facilities or is out of reach, and many with a mental health concern avoid seeking treatment due to stigmatisation. Through reaching out to her community and starting conversations on mental health, Jeanne is helping to dispel stigmas and superstitions and prevent serious illness from developing. By identifying signs of different mental health conditions and teaching early prevention techniques, she helps those who are living with mental illness and refers those who require specialist support to appropriate services.
“As a community health worker, my mission is to provide education for good health and disease prevention in my community, and meet regularly with many members of my community. Mental health is an area that people know very little about, there are many superstitions and stigma around mental health problems. I know how important prevention of mental illness – this has now become one of our main community outreach topics.”