First Ladies Academy Reaches Across Borders to Achieve Health Goals
Only a few short blocks from the United Nations, first ladies from more than a dozen countries gathered to share perspectives, strengthen bonds, and strategize on ways to achieve progress on public health and other social and development issues that transcend national boundaries.
The second annual Global First Ladies Academy was hosted by the Global First Ladies Alliance (GFLA) and the Columbia Mailman School and held at the Ford Foundation headquarters on East 43rd Street. Over three days, with simultaneous translation services in several languages, presentations by experts in public health and executive leadership sparked lively discussion between 14 first ladies and former first ladies from countries in Africa, South America, and the Caribbean, and their advisors. The Alliance was co-founded in 2009 by Cora Neumann, MPH ’23, a member of the School’s Board of Advisors. It has worked with more than 70 first ladies and trained 180 of their senior advisors. The 2024 Academy was supported by numerous sponsors. (Read about the 2023 Academy, which included a visit from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.)
First partners, most of whom are women, are often given the responsibility of championing social issues, including public health concerns, even though these challenges can be a heavier lift than political and economic issues typically spearheaded by the country’s top leader. Yet, first partners often lack a staff and a budget, nor do they have the formal authority to pass laws. Even so, they can marshal support through partnerships with groups whose goals align with their own. As first partners, they have a special platform that allows them to be effective champions for critical issues. When a first partner calls on someone, they answer, Neumann said, adding, “You are role models, you are visible, and you have incredible influence.”
Workshops and roundtable discussions focused on interdisciplinary strategies to improve public health and well-being, facilitated by Columbia Mailman experts, including Dean Linda P. Fried Wafaa El-Sadr, director of the global health center ICAP and Columbia World Projects; Michael Sparer, chair of the department of Health Policy and Management; and Robert Shepardson, senior lecturer of health Policy and management at Columbia Mailman and co-founder and partner of SS+K and co-chair of M&C Saatchi US. Neumann presented the GFLA curriculum, which has been developed in partnership with first ladies over the years, and covers vision setting, strategic planning, building a team, resource mobilization and principles for making a lasting impact.
Sparer introduced a framework to understand the development of health policy using case studies on the U.S. responses to COVID-19 and maternal mortality. El-Sadr spoke about lessons learned from the global response to the HIV epidemic, in which treatment and prevention have saved millions of lives, and how ICAP has worked in partnership with countries to strengthen their health systems and build capacity to respond to HIV, tuberculosis, COVID-19, and other public health threats more effectively. Shepardson presented elements of successful communications campaigns to promote public health priorities, including the “designated driver” to combat drunk driving and First Lady Michelle Obama’s anti-obesity “Let’s Move” initiative.
Throughout the 2024 Global First Ladies Academy, first ladies, who each bring a variety of professional backgrounds to their roles, shared insights, experiences, and learnings as they pursue—and achieve—their goals. Fatima Maada Bio, first lady of the Republic of Sierra Leone and a former actress, screenwriter, and film producer, spoke about her successful campaign to end childhood marriage in her country, which was signed into law only days earlier. Mellisa Santokhi-Seenacherry, first lady of Suriname and a lawyer, discussed the origins of her campaign to improve mental health among women and girls in her country, which crystalized during the isolating early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Monica Geingos, former first lady of Namibia, entrepreneur, and lawyer, shared the heartbreaking story of losing her husband, President Hage Geingob, and the subsequent sudden power transition. Geingos also related her experience of successfully standing up to libelous statements by the Namibian media, using both the courts and a viral video of female empowerment.
In a closing ceremony, participating first ladies were given a certificate honoring their participation in the Academy. In remarks, Dean Fried said she was pleased to share the School’s public health expertise so it would complement first ladies’ leadership and goals, adding that she was inspired by their expertise and ongoing efforts. “Thank you for the optimism that you give us that the world will end up in a better place because of you,” she said.
In their own reflections, first ladies were complementary of their experiences at the Academy and how it strengthened relationships and fostered insights to address complex challenges that transcend borders. Leticia Ocampos, first lady of Paraguay, said, “I had no idea this program would allow for so much vulnerability and sharing. Learning from other First Ladies has been so valuable, I am so grateful I came.” Ana Dias Lourenço, first lady of Angola, added, “There is no other forum like this in the world.” First Lady Bio of Sierra Leone said, “I am going to put the enlightenment I have acquired here into practice when I go back home.” Addressing her fellow first ladies, she continued, “We all have the same problems. My voice and your voice are the same.”