International Women’s Day: Doubling Down in 2016

Today we celebrate International Women’s Day and, coincidently, officially release our 2015 Annual Report. As I think back on the year, I’m immensely proud of our team. The big news is that our programs served twice as many women as the year before. This means there are now 7,349 women living in the coffeelands who can continue to live their lives, raise their children and participate in economic development without concern of cervical cancer.

Our plan is to double down again in 2016 with a goal of delivering life-saving services to more than 18,000 women.

This exponential growth is a direct result of a strategy shift back in 2014, focused on scale and innovation. As a result, we have sharpened our focus on reaching as many women as possible through screening and treatment campaigns, while also continuing to train local health providers to foster long-term sustainability of our work.

Our new program in Ethiopia led the way with more than 3,159 women screened, 461 women treated and nearly 120 health promoters trained. It also reinforced the incredible need for our services in East Africa where few women have access to essential health services and nearly 2% are HIV-positive – which increases their risk of cervical cancer fourfold.

The newly adopted 2015 sustainable development agenda further highlights the relevance of our work for industries, such as coffee and other agricultural value chains, that consider the UN framework a blueprint for their own role in responsible consumption and production, gender equity and economic resiliency.

The year ahead offers many big opportunities to embrace new technology, expand our footprint and grow our funding base. And, most importantly, to help the women in the coffee-lands maximize their potential through access to life-saving healthcare.

Thank you to all donors who contributed to one of our most successful annual appeal campaigns and enabled us to surpass our $75,000 challenge goal.

Watch this space for more updates on our work in the months ahead.

Happy International Women’s Day,

Guy Stallworthy
President & CEO
Grounds for Health