Newswise — Today, the Bill & Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health announced the 2016 winners of 120 Under 40: The New Generation of Family Planning Leaders.
Led by the Gates Institute with support from Bayer, 120 Under 40 recognizes and highlights the achievements of the next generation of family planning leaders worldwide. Over the course of this multi-year project, 120 young family planning champions will be highlighted, 40 in each of the three project years. This year’s 40 winners are journalists, medical doctors and service providers, advocates, researchers, and founders of nonprofits. They work all over the world—in clinics and universities, in offices, and in the field—to advance family planning and reproductive health.
In Ethiopia, Minister of Health Kesetebirhan Admasu has championed the country’s highly successful Health Extension Network, which improves the quality and availability of primary health care services—especially family planning and reproductive health—through community-based health workers. In India, Vithika Yadav is providing accessible, non-judgmental information on sexual and reproductive health and rights through the digital platform Love Matters India. From the United States, Turkey native Burcu Bozkurt co-leads the International Youth Alliance for Family Planning, a global network of 50-plus country coordinators working to amplify and empower the voices of young family planning and reproductive health advocates.
The 40 winners for 2016 were chosen through public online voting, scoring by a jury of experts and leaders in family planning, and the project secretariat. The winners each receive $1,000 from the Gates Institute to continue their work in family planning.
“We were thrilled by the caliber of the nominees in this first year of 120 Under 40, and these 40 winners are truly an outstanding group,” says Jose “Oying” Rimon II, Director of the Gates Institute and chair of the 120 Under 40 Jury. “With these young leaders at the helm, the family planning movement and its commitment to protecting health and saving lives are in excellent hands.”
A smaller representative group of winners have been invited to attend the 120 Under 40 celebrations in the United States from September 21 to 23. These celebrations, which coincide the United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York, will include training in advocacy and leadership, meetings with influential leaders, and opportunities for the winners to share personal stories about their passion for family planning and reproductive health. The activities will be co-hosted in Baltimore, Washington DC, and New York City by the Gates Institute, Bayer, Population Council and the FP2020 partnership.
Year one of 120 Under 40 officially concludes on World Contraception Day, September 26, an annual day of observance organized by Bayer to focus international attention on contraception, especially young people’s need to access contraceptive and reproductive health information, services and supplies.
The 2016 winners of 120 Under 40 are as follows (full bios of the winners are available upon request):
Dr. Kesetebirhan Admasu, EthiopiaMinister Federal Ministry of Health
Rose Aduful, GhanaSenior Nursing Officer/Public Health NursingReproductive Health Centre, Korle bu Teaching HospitalDr. Priya Agrawal, United KingdomExecutive Director, Vaccines & Women’s HealthMerck Sharp & Dohme Corp.
Margaret Bolaji, NigeriaAssociate ResearcherPopulation and Reproductive Health Initiative
Vicky Boydell, Great BritainSenior Rights and Accountability Advisor International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF)
Burcu Bozkurt, Turkey (based in the United States)Director of OperationsInternational Youth Alliance for Family Planning
Atif Ikram Butt, PakistanExecutive DirectorCenter for Communication Programs Pakistan
Patricee Douglas, GuyanaMedical Doctor, AdvocateWomen Across Differences
Denise Dunning, United StatesFounder and Executive DirectorRise Up
Isaac Ejakhegbe, NigeriaSRHR Program OfficerWomen’s Health and Action Research CentreMorenike Fajemisin, NigeriaRegulatory Affairs and Medical Marketing Manager DKT Nigeria
Rakibul Hasan, BangladeshFeatures EditorThe Bangladesh Today
Sharon Migariza Kiyingu, KenyaFounder/Chairperson Women Promotion CentreJulia Kohn, United StatesNational Director of Research Planned Parenthood Federation of AmericaSimon Manga, Cameroon (based in the United States)Reproductive Health Specialist/Family Planning Supervisor Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services
Marvin Masalunga, PhilippinesDeputy Municipal Health Officer Municipal Health Office of Coron, Palawan
Christopher Meraiyebu, Nigeria (based in Uganda)Behavioral Change Communications Specialist (PSI Fellow)Programme for Accessible Health, Communication and Education (PACE), UgandaTlaleng Mofokeng-Maseko, South AfricaMedical Doctor, Deputy Chairperson Sexual and Reproductive Justice Coalition of South Africa (SRJCZA)Barwani Msiska, Malawi (based in the United States)MPH CandidateRollins School of Public Health, Emory University
Brian Mutebi, UgandaFeatures WriterThe Daily Monitor
Phionah Fortunate Naigaga, UgandaProject OfficerDeutsche Stiftung Weltbevoelkerung (DSW)
Mariam Nakabuubi, UgandaProject Officer, Maternal and Child Health Health Child
Paul Nyachae, KenyaProject LeadJhpiego
Catherine Nyambura, KenyaDeputy DirectorDandelion Kenya
Ufuoma Omo Obi, Nigeria (based in Sierra Leone)Country Director Marie Stopes Sierra Leone
Maricianah Atieno Onono, KenyaMedical Doctor/Research Scientist Kenya Medical Research Institute
Tom Oludhe, KenyaFounder and Executive Director AfyaElimu Community Based Organization Juliana Ooi, MalaysiaYouth Researcher Selangor & Wilayah Persekutuan Family Reproductive Health Association
Ankita Rawat, IndiaYouth Champion Initiative Fellow Feminist Approach to Technology
Ash Rogers, United StatesExecutive Director Lwala Community Alliance, Kenya
Jean Christopher Rusatira, Rwanda (based in the United States)Co-Director, Research & Development International Youth Alliance on Family Planning
Diodio Sacko, MaliMidwife, Sexual/Reproductive Training Officer Marie Stopes Mali
Dr. Surendra Sharma, IndiaSenior Program Officer JhpiegoAshish Kumar Srivastava, IndiaState Program Manager JhpiegoIndra Tumur, MongoliaCountry Director Marie Stopes Mongolia
Muzabel Welongo, Democratic Republic of the Congo (based in Kenya)Executive Director and Founder Solidarity and Advocacy in Crisis (SAVIC), Kenya
Lucy Wilson, United StatesTechnical Advisor FHI 360Vithika Yadav, IndiaHeadRNW Media - Love Matters Programme
Ghulam Yaseen, PakistanChannel Lead/Deputy General Manager Operations Marie Stopes Society Pakistan
Olukoya Yetunde, NigeriaDemand Creation Specialist Society for Family Health Nigeria
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