Closing Remarks by Brian Brink, IWHC Board Chair

Brian Brink, IWHC Board Chair

I think that many of you may be surprised that a man has been elected to chair the International Women's Health Coalition. I was surprised to be asked, and thought you might be interested to hear my interpretation of why our board made this decision. As you've heard, I come from South Africa, where I've lived all my life. I grew up in the height of apartheid, and have witnessed first-hand the awful consequences of a system that denied basic human rights and opportunities to the majority of the population based simply on the color of their skin.

That atrocity is, thankfully, history. However, there's another tragedy in South Africa which we now have to confront on a daily basis. For over 20 years, I have witnessed the AIDS epidemic unfold. Today, some 20 percent of the adult population in South Africa is HIV-infected. The impact is catastrophic, but what many people don't appreciate is the extent to which young women and girls bear the brunt of this epidemic.

In South Africa, young women and girls are five times more likely to be infected with HIV than men and boys of the same age. This problem is found throughout Africa, and increasingly around the world. I see on a daily basis young mothers dying from AIDS and the desperation of their orphan children. It's hard to find words to describe this tragedy. As a proxy for the words, I've brought each of you a book from South Africa. It's called "A Mother's Legacy," and there's a copy for each of you as you leave. The author of this book, Kim Feinberg, is with us this evening. Kim, would you stand up?

This book captures the images and the stories of some of these HIV-infected mothers in the most captivating way. I'd like to read you just one quote:  "When I was 16, I was raped by a neighbor. I was pregnant from this. I was not able to tell anyone. My message to my children about AIDS, 'Get educated and wait for the right person; otherwise it's pregnancy with a death penalty.'"

AIDS is a dreadful disease, but for women what it really does is to expose how badly the world treats them, especially the daily violations of their sexual and reproductive rights, and denial of access to proper healthcare. The brave women of the Coalition have been fighting for protection of these uniquely female human rights for decades. Long before the AIDS epidemic, if only the world had been listening and acting on their advice. Perhaps HIV would not have had such an easy passage, particularly amongst the poor in developing countries. If only the world had invested freely in the type of programs that IWHC has been driving since inception, we would have had a very different story to tell today. Nevertheless, there is reason for hope; there are signs that the world at last is beginning to change. Governments, corporations, civil society and the United Nations are at last coming together to effectively fight the gender inequality that is entrenched in society, and the Coalition is at the forefront of that change, fearlessly demanding increased commitment and immediate action.

I witnessed the pillars of apartheid collapse with unbelievable speed in the early 1990s when, only a few years earlier, I had thought that there was no hope. I feel confident that the same thing can happen again, and the systematic discrimination against women that our world has condoned will collapse with the same speed in the very near future. Men have a huge role to play in ensuring that this change does indeed happen, quickly and permanently.

It's a great honor to chair the board of the Coalition at this pivotal time. I'm humbled by the exceptional talent and commitment of the women and men that I'm working with. They all share the vision of IWHC and its first and current presidents, Joan Dunlop and Adrienne Germain. Together we are determined to achieve this vision.

And a special word of thanks to Kati, who was very instrumental in getting me involved in this exciting journey.

To all of you gathered here tonight who have given so generously to this gala, thank you for your commitment to the rights and health of women and girls. IWHC has a global impact far beyond its size. Every one of your dollars makes a huge difference where it is needed most. When you have looked through "A Mother's Legacy," I'm sure that you will be more convinced than ever that the Coalition must succeed. We hope and trust that you, too, will become fearless ambassadors for women's health and human rights in your daily lives. Thank you very much for being here.