DJIBOUTI'S NOMINATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL WOMAN OF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 000841 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/IWI AND AF/EX E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN PREL KPAO PHUM PINR DJ SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI'S NOMINATION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL WOMAN OF COURAGE AWARD REF: STATE 99729 ¶1. Embassy Djibouti nominates Ms. Zahra Moussa Bouh for the International Woman of Courage (IWOC) Award. For nearly two decades, Ms. Bouh has played an instrumental role and has been an important leader in the promotion of women's health in Djibouti. Since 1992, she has served as a midwife, nurse anesthesiologist, and as supervisor of Djibouti's Balbala hospital. ¶2. As a midwife, nurse anesthesiologist, and supervisor of a hospital located in one of the poorest areas of Djibouti, Ms. Bouh is an unsung hero in the fight to reduce Djibouti's high infant and maternal mortality rates. For almost two decades, she has tackled the challenges posed by Djibouti's extreme urban poverty, large nomadic-pastoralist population, and lack of basic healthcare infrastructure. By providing personal medical counseling and training to scores of women, Ms. Bouh has been at the vanguard of helping Djiboutian women face and overcome complex cultural, social, and health challenges. ¶3. For Djibouti's urban poor and nomadic pastoralists, home delivery with the help of family members or an untrained midwife is the norm. However, because of the extremely high incidence of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Djibouti, complications and hemorrhaging during childbirth are common. Over 90% of Djiboutian women have undergone some form of FGM, and the most common practiced form in Djibouti is infibulation, the most extreme type of FGM. Outside of Djibouti City, healthcare infrastructure simply can not provide anything but the most rudimentary interventions. Medication cannot be stored properly, so even a relatively simple complication, such as an infection, often condemns both the mother and infant to death. In the event of a hemorrhage or crisis situation, there is little hope of transporting the patient to urgent care facilities in time. ¶4. Chronic water sanitation issues and cultural practices lead to further problems after childbirth. Extended breastfeeding is not a common cultural practice in Djibouti, and women often mix milk powder with unclean water, leading to infant diarrhea, malnutrition, and death. ¶5. On the cultural front, Ms. Bouh targets local elders and community leaders in this predominantly Muslim country to convince pregnant women to come to the hospital for delivery. At the hospital, she runs a comprehensive education program on the benefits of breastfeeding and the dangers of unsanitary water and living conditions. This includes programs aimed at new mothers to demonstrate how good personal hygiene can help save the lives of their infants. ¶6. Ms. Bouh has also been active in enhancing access to healthcare for women with HIV. In an environment where HIV is heavily stigmatized, she runs HIV education and social awareness and outreach campaigns to convince HIV-positive women to come to the hospital for treatment. ¶7. Structurally, Ms. Bouh has worked tirelessly with the Government of Djibouti, the Ministry of Health, local community leaders, elders, and social workers to change current practices. Ms. Bouh is a member of a key committee that drafted and submitted a National Disaster Management Plan. She has pushed the Ministry of Health to issue payment waivers and make reduced-fee services available for the indigent, providing services for free or at cost. In addition, she has modernized the pharmacy management protocols at Balbala Hospital to ensure that medicines are properly stored, cataloged, and disposed of. This has had the added benefit of reducing waste and corruption, and making medicines close to expiration (within limits) available to women in need free of charge. ¶8. Ms. Bouh's activism is remarkable in many ways. While steadfastly reaching out to improve the lives of individuals and groups of her fellow country-women in a real and immediate way, she has also made great efforts to push for the structural reforms that will have an even wider and longer-lasting impact. Her work is both tangible, and transformative. Leading by example and hard work, she has made a crucial contribution to two of her country's most difficult challenges: the basic health of its people--and the empowerment of Djiboutian women who can act as a positive force for development and social change. ¶9. Biographical information: Name: Zahra Moussa Bouh Date of Birth: 15/12/1972 - Dikhil Martial Status: Married - 5 children Tel: (253) 82-26-32 -------------- PREVIOUS POSITIONS -------------- DJIBOUTI 00000841 002 OF 002 1993-99: Midwife 1999-2004: Nurse anesthesiologist 2004-06: General Supervisor, Intensive Care Unit, Peltier Hospital -------------- CURRENT POSITION: -------------- August 2006: Supervisor of Balbala Hospital and surrounding health centers Ms Zahra occupies several positions: - Supervisor of Balbala hospital, - Midwife two nights per week at Dar El Hanan Maternity Hospital - Nurse anesthesiologist for caesarian surgeries -------------- EDUCATION & TRAINING -------------- 1988-92: Midwife school, Djibouti 2000-02: Diploma of Nurse Anesthesiology, Dakar, Senegal 2002-2004: Diploma in hospital management 2007: Seminar on reducing child mortality, Rabat, Morocco 2008: Conference on disaster management, Egypt WONG