mothers2mothers (m2m) is looking forward to participating in the United Nations (UN) 79^th General Assembly (UNGA) Week in New York City, as well as the Summit of the Future.

At this critical time for the global health and development community, we will be calling on leaders to turn words into action for the health and well-being of African families, and to ensure recognition, support, and fair employment for community health workers (CHWs). With just six years remaining to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, the time for decisive action is now…especially as half of people across the African continent cannot access health services, and crises including climate and conflict make it even harder to leave no-one behind.

Bupe Sinkala—an m2m community health worker from Zambia—will be in New York to continue advocating for community-led solutions, and keeping stakeholders and partners at UNGA accountable to supporting and investing in paid, professional, and fully digitalised female CHWs. She’ll be joined by m2m’s President and CEO—Frank Beadle de Palomo—and a handful of other members of the m2m team. Will you be there? Be sure to connect with the m2m team by emailing [email protected]!

Below are some of the highlights that we are looking forward to:

• A thought-provoking and action-focused panel at Goals House, hosted by m2m and Cartier Philanthropy, to explore what it will take for the global development community to truly work effectively together and deliver real change for the health of women and girls. The panel discussion, moderated by Emma France, Chief Growth Officer at m2m, will feature Tsehaitu ‘Tubi’ Retta, Director of the Girls Alliance, Obama Foundation, Her Excellency Toyin Saraki, Founder and President, The Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Bupe Sinkala, Community Health Worker in Zambia, m2m, and Sid Ravinutala, Director, Data Science, IDinsight. If you are interested in attending, please email [email protected].
• An UNGA 2024 side event hosted by Last Mile Health, in partnership with Johnson & Johnson, on the theme of “Community health workers at the forefront of climate adaptation”. This event, coinciding with New York Climate Change Action Week, will feature a timely discussion about the critical role of CHWs in addressing the health impacts of a changing climate, and make the case for community health funding as essential to climate-focused funding strategies and portfolios. Bupe will share direct insights of how climate is impacting her work and her community.
• A USAID, World Bank, and GFF event on the sidelines of UNGA, that will spotlight how visionary country leadership and strategic international partnerships are catalysing a new era of investments and creativity in primary health care. With interventions from ministers of health and finance—many of which have committed to ambitious transformation agendas that aim to strengthen the primary health care system and reduce inequities—Bupe Sinkala will be sharing how m2m’s evolution to a primary health care organisation has benefitted the health and well-being of her clients, and strengthened the work that Mentor Mothers do.
• A dialogue with African leaders on scaling community health plans, convened by Africa Frontline First, in partnership with Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (AfCDC). Bupe Sinkala will join this conversation with representatives of Africa CDC and delegates from Ministries of Health as they shape and implement plans to support community health workers to deliver life-saving care to patients. This dialogue will provide an opportunity to hear directly from country leadership, share lessons learned, and identify opportunities to accelerate this progress in collaboration.
• A Business Council for International Understanding (BCIU) reception, in partnership with Abbott, Gilead, and Merck, celebrating the global HIV/AIDS community and partners, where Bupe will be sharing opening remarks on her own personal and professional experience and the critical role that CHWs have to play in ensuring their peers’ health needs are met, and no one is left behind.

Keep an eye on our website and social media feeds for more news ahead of UNGA79.

We hope to see you there!