For millions of women and girls around the world access to menstrual hygiene or period products is not a given.

In fact, in many low-income communities in the Majority World, menstrual hygiene products are often considered luxury items. Period poverty particularly affects young girls at a critical time in their lives, impacting their education and self-confidence. Many young girls in the Majority World even stop attending school because they are unequipped to manage menstruation.

But for Geena Dunne this issue had to be solved. Geena recognised that all women and girls deserve to menstruate with dignity and confidence. She also understood the powerful ripple effect that confident, educated women can have on their communities and economies.

In this episode of Philanthropod, Anubha Rawat meets with Geena Dunne - Founder and CEO of The Cova Project. Anubha and Geena discuss how The Cova Project provides menstrual cups and menstrual health education to girls and women in low-income communities around the world. They aim to bridge the school attendance gap, caused by period poverty.

What’s more? This episode also features on-the-ground perspectives from Lillian Bagala (Regional Director at the Irise Institute East Africa), Mr. Kisambira Eria (District Education Officer in Jinja and male champion of the menstrual cup), and three young women in Uganda whose lives have been changed by The Cova Project. These perspectives are captured by Anubha whilst she is on the road in Uganda, and allow our listeners to understand the wider impact and system in which The Cova Project takes place.

This episode is essential listening for anyone passionate about gender equality, women’s health, and the sensitive cultural conversations needed to truly empower young women around the world.

To learn more about The Cova Project follow the link: https://www.thecovaproject.com/

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You’re a pregnant woman living on the outskirts of Nairobi. You recognise the early signs of labour and need to get to the hospital. But your family members are at work and cannot drive you. You also don't have the means or access to public transport. What do you do?

For millions of people in the Majority World, this is a daily reality - where ambulance services are neither embedded nor coordinated into the health system, or are simply too expensive for low-income communities.

Striving to respond to this urgent gap, Caitlin Dolkart co-founded Flare Emergency Response - a subscription-based emergency-response platform, ensuring life-saving ambulance services for Kenyans. In this episode, Anubha Rawat and Caitlin discuss the Flare Emergency Response journey - from inception to launching in 2018, to now coordinating 800 ambulances and 70 aircraft, a roadside assistance program, and managing contracts in over a dozen countries in Africa, including Uganda and Tanzania.

Anubha and Caitlin also dive into finances, including how initial funding from philanthropy, venture capital and impact investors helped launch Flare Emergency Response, but why an ambulance membership model is key to long-term sustainability. They discuss the role of technology, how the team has worked to ensure coordination between existing health providers, and the innovative pricing models that make these emergency services accessible to as many as possible.

Ultimately, this powerful episode is an important reminder about how global development interventions require detailed systems-wide research for real gaps to be identified and for true impact to be created and scaled.

To learn more about Flare Emergency Response follow the link: https://flare.co.ke/

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In our first episode of Season 11, Anubha Rawat comes to you live from Uganda where she meets with Dr Pasquine Ogunsanya, Founder and Executive Director of Alive Medical Services (AMS). Founded in 2007, AMS is a leading organisation in the fight against HIV/AIDS and for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) in Uganda. The AMS Medical Centre operates 24/7, providing free, life-saving care to vulnerable communities.

Dr Ogunsanya discusses her pioneering work in patient-centred care and her leadership in Uganda’s local, regional and national fight against HIV/AIDS. AMS tests over 600 new clients each month, linking an average of 96 HIV-positive clients to comprehensive care. It also provides free antiretroviral treatment (ART) to over 13,000 clients, including 1,500 HIV-positive youth and adolescents. Annually, AMS serves over 218,000 vulnerable clients with high-quality HIV/AIDS and SRHR care.

The episode also gives our listeners a candid and on-the-ground insight into the impacts of the USAID funding freeze. Dr Ogunsanya describes the anxiety and fear the stop-work order has caused, and explains how AMS has had to reduce programs and medical provision – even despite a surge in client numbers as other clinics and services are shutting down.

Despite these circumstances, Dr Ogunsanya has been inspired by AMS’ incredible staff who have continued to work as volunteers and the ongoing support of other donors. Dr Ogunsanya’s vision of a world in which those in need of medical care have access to state-of-the-art medical services provided with love and dignity is only growing stronger.

For her work in HIV/AIDS care, women’s empowerment, and social development, Dr Ogunsanya has received a number of awards including Outstanding Humanitarian Work in Health and HIV/AIDS (Keep a Child Alive, 2007) and a recognition award from Uganda's Ministry of Health for her outstanding performance in HIV/AIDS response (2011).

To learn more about Alive Medical Services follow the link here: https://amsuganda.org/

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