Protecting the Right to Choose During a Once-in-a-Century Pandemic
This is part one of a series on sexual and reproductive health access during COVID-19, featuring an interview with Global Health Corps (GHC) CEO Heather Anderson. Check out part two here, an interview with Ugandan activist and GHC alumna, Dinnah Nabwire.
Brittany: You’re now the CEO of Global Health Corps, but you’ve long been passionate about SRHR. How did you get your start and what landed you with GHC?
Heather: I’ve always been passionate about gender equality. My mother took me to my first Women’s March in Washington DC in the 1980s and the energy and urgency of what we were marching for stuck with me. One’s own sexual and reproductive health is such a cornerstone to achieving anything meaningful. Professionally, I’ve been fortunate to serve at some amazing SRHR organizations like Planned Parenthood Global. Throughout my career I have grown to recognize how important it is to work at the intersection of health issues and apply a broader health sector view to create sustainable change. That change can be accelerated if you have a network of committed leaders, and that’s what I’ve spent the last eight years at GHC working towards.
Brittany: We often talk about how health and gender equity are two sides of the same coin in many ways. How are we seeing that now?
Heather: We’re still facing a long-standing reality that’s as unacceptable as ever — at the highest levels of leadership across the health sector, women remain vastly underrepresented. They make up the majority of front line healthcare workers doing courageous work and risking their own lives during this pandemic. And we’re not gathering enough data on the gendered impacts of COVID-19, despite learnings from Ebola and Zika that lack of gender data during crises translates to worse health outcomes for all community members.
Both morally and practically, we need to invest in women leaders early and consistently in their careers. Their voices, perspectives, and skills are what will accelerate SRHR progress. This is a huge part of our work at GHC. We’ve recruited and trained in the over 700 young women leaders. They make up 68 percent of our community of 1000+ and growing. We’re all about removing the obstacles they face to rising in their leadership journeys.
Brittany: What kind of SRHR leadership does this moment call for?
Heather: Leadership matters now more than ever. People are worried about their health and their livelihoods. They’re anxious about the future and unsure how to act amidst all the uncertainty. Leaders are needed first and foremost to inspire hope, and then to mobilize action for a healthier future for all. Leaders need to share accurate information and remind people that their sexual and reproductive health and rights do not matter any less and in fact, must matter more in a post-pandemic world.
The realm of SRHR has always been really thorny and contested, rife as it is with ideological debates. To protect gains and lay the groundwork for accelerated progress, we need leaders who can work across silos. We need leaders who can understand and architect health systems so they deliver quality SRHR care — alongside other types of critical care — for all people. At GHC, we apply an ecosystem approach to training leaders because change doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Leaders live within communities and they act accordingly. They know that their words and actions, when aligned with values of equity and humility, can have positive ripple efforts beyond their individual spheres of influence. This kind of leadership is rare, but we need more of it.
Brittany: Even before the pandemic, SRHR gains were under threat globally. With a presidential election approaching in the U.S. in November, what’s your hope for shifts in domestic health policy and U.S. foreign policy?
Heather: For one thing, I hope the Supreme Court will discount all the bad faith arguments, the latest of which revolve around COVID-19, and uphold Roe v. Wade here in the U.S. There are incredible reproductive health and justice advocates and activists working day in and day out to protect the fundamental right to abortion, and we need to amplify their voices and their leadership. On the foreign policy side, I hope that the Global Gag Rule will not only be rescinded but abolished. Over the last eight years with GHC, I’ve seen so many of our incredible SRHR partner organizations in East and Southern Africa have to lay off front line staff and shut down when the policy was reinstated by U.S. administrations. We know that these shut downs directly result in rises in unplanned pregnancies and unsafe abortions.
Brittany: What keeps you motivated and inspired to do this work every day?
Heather: Our community of 1,000+ fierce advocates like Dinnah! They’re relentless in their pursuit of health equity. When I think of their creativity, resilience, boldness, and talent, working to amplify their voices and impact feels like a privilege and a honor. I also have to give so much credit to our small but very mighty team at GHC. I’m notoriously stingy with exclamation points but lately I’ve been dishing them out left and right because I am truly in awe of how they’re rocking our increased and ever-shifting workload. The pandemic seems to have only strengthened our collective resolve to build the next generation of health equity leaders, and it means so much to be part of a team that cares.
Brittany: What are you reading/listening to/loving right now, outside of work?
Heather: Between working and parenting and staying inside, it’s been tough. But my two young kids keep me and my husband laughing! They save me from my tendency to work too much with Funfetti baking sprees and show-and-tell diversions in our Brooklyn apartment on weekends.
Heather Anderson is the CEO of Global Health Corps (GHC).
Global Health Corps (GHC) is a leadership development organization building the next generation of health equity leaders around the world. All GHC fellows, partners, and supporters are united in a common belief: health is a human right. There is a role for everyone in the movement for health equity. To learn more, visit our website and connect with us on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook.
