Compiling this ICRH Global end-of-the-year newsletter and reading about the many events and output of these wonderful teams made me feel very proud.
Two high-level awards were presented to ICRH team members: Prof Ines Keygnaert received the very prestigious Marie Popelin Prize for her work on sexual and gender-based violence in Belgium and beyond, and Dr Griffins Manguro was awarded as one of the top 40 influential leaders under 40 in Kenya. Congratulations to Ines, Griffins and their teams!
With an impressive list of publications as well as three new PhDs this month, we can also tick a big academic box. I want to congratulate Dr Michael Chung, Dr Makini Boothe and Dr Cynthia Semá Baltazar for their amazing work.
Just as important is our advocacy and activism work, as reflected by the 16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender Violence in Kenya and the Bate-Papo Sem Tabus Project in Mozambique. Community engagement focusing on children and youth is important, as well as the recognition of ICRH by Ministries of Health, e.g. in the Linda Mtoto and the Sayana Press projects.
The ANSER workshop was a success and an important catalyzer to advocate evidence-based policies and practices in many countries.
Unfortunately, my earlier message about the low COVID-19 vaccination coverage in Africa and the huge impact of the pandemic on SRHR, particularly in poor and vulnerable populations, is still an unacceptable reality and requires global and local efforts from all of us.
To conclude I want to thank all ICRH teams for the tremendous amount of work done in 2021. We can all be proud of the results and the impact we created. Now it’s time to enjoy the well-deserved season’s break. Stay safe and healthy, spend time with family and friends and see you back in 2022.
Happy Holidays!