Voices of Courage Awards Luncheon 2005

Benefiting the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children
Celebrating advances in reproductive health for refugees

 

May 12, 2005, the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, New York City

Host: Lesley Stahl

Keynote Speaker: Ambassador Allan Rock

Allan Rock is Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York. As the voice of Canadians to the General Assembly and the Security Council, he promotes Canada’s global priorities through diplomacy and multilateral cooperation. Mr. Rock is an advocate of human rights, human security and UN reform. He has consistently called for more vigorous international action to address humanitarian needs and foster development, particularly in Africa.

Appointed ambassador in January 2004, he has a decade of experience in government and policymaking. A member of Canada’s parliament from 1993-2003, he served in the federal cabinet as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, as Minister of Health, and most recently as Minister of Industry.

Click here to read Ambassador Rock's Voices of Courage Awards luncheon keynote speech.

Co-Chairs: Jocelyn Cunningham, Gail Furman, Regina Peruggi and Debbie Welch

Honorees include:

Ortho Women’s Health, a unit of Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., in recognition of its work to improve women’s lives through the provision of reproductive health products. Ortho Women’s Health developed the nation’s first prescription contraceptive in 1931, sponsored the development of the Pap smear for early detection of cervical and uterine cancer, and introduced the first birth control pill in 1963. Click here to read a speech by Katherine D. LaGuardia of Ortho Women's Health.

Gertrude Garway is currently the program manager for the International Rescue Committee's gender-based violence program in Liberia. As a refugee in Guinea in the 1990s, she worked to advance refugee and internally displaced women’s reproductive health. After IRC expatriate staff were evacuated from Liberia last summer and formal programs suspended, Gertrude led a team of four national staff to find and help women and girls who’d been raped. To read Gertrude's speech, click here.

Sophia, a refugee from Burma, is the program manager of the reproductive health inpatient department at the Mae Tao Clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand. She supervises a staff of 25 junior and senior health workers. Sophia trains traditional birth attendants, maternal child health trainees and other reproductive health staff. The Women's Commission has worked with the Mae Tao Clinic for many years. Read Sophia's speech here.

The Compton Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation have been committed supporters of reproductive health efforts for refugee and displaced populations. Even as government support has waned, these foundations have remained steadfast in their commitment to prioritizing reproductive health for displaced populations. The Compton Foundation was the first foundation to draw attention to reproductive health needs in conflict situations and has supported the provision of emergency contraception for conflict-affected populations. The Ford Foundation funded the first-ever international conferences on reproductive health research in conflict settings and continues to support reproductive health coordination in emergencies. The Gates Foundation has been instrumental in promoting the Minimum Initial Service Package (MISP) of reproductive health in conflict settings. The Hewlett Foundation has been a longstanding institutional supporter of organizations addressing reproductive health of refugees and the internally displaced. The Women’s Commission and other organizations committed to reproductive health for refugees sincerely value their support.