From prevention to treatment, there are many entry points to intervene ranging from preventive HPV vaccination, promotion of screening and follow-up, and social mobilization.

This presentation will focus on why cervical cancer elimination is an achievable goal, and lessons learned from small actions that are leading to major impact.

Our speaker, Dr Isabel C. Scarinci, is a professor and Vice-Chair for Global and Rural Health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. She is a member of the Rotary Club of Birmingham, Alabama.

Professionally, she has dedicated her career to the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based programs in cervical cancer prevention and control among underserved populations.

As a Rotarian, she has partnered with the Rotary Club of Colombo (Sri Lanka), and more recently with the Rotary Club of Guatemala-Sur, toward the elimination of cervical cancer in these countries. In 2023 Alabama became the first and only state in the U.S. to launch a statewide plan to eliminate cervical cancer as a public health problem through a partnership between the Rotary Club of Birmingham and other organizations.

In 2021, Dr Scarinci was chosen as one of the six champions of health worldwide by Rotary International for her work in cervical cancer.

To learn more, go to:

https://operationwipeout.org/

⁠Video showing our maternal-infant health app in action: https://vimeo.com/824788956⁠

In the mountains of Guatemala, many indigenous women prefer to give birth at home with a midwife who speaks their language and understands them. Yet, sometimes, high risk complications occur.

How can we lower maternal mortality that is 16 times higher than the United States when women live hours from the hospital and do not speak the language of the doctors?

Wuqu’ Kawoq | Maya Health Alliance is eliminating avoidable maternal and neonatal deaths by repairing the disconnects that prevent mothers from receiving timely hospital care.

The Mobile Maternal Health Program equips indigenous midwives in the highlands of Guatemala with a checklist-based smartphone application to detect high-risk complications early and provides Maya care navigators to accompany mothers when hospital services are required. Midwives get the tools and clinical support they need to make timely referrals and mothers benefit from the security of having a knowledgeable advocate who speaks her language by her side. This solution, from the phone app to the navigation strategies, was co-designed and continues to be run by the communities it serves: indigenous Guatemalan women.

Since the Program began as a pilot in 2016, successful hospital referrals among the approximately 800 births attended annually by participating midwives have increased by more than 50% and maternal deaths in the pilot region have dropped from 8 a year to 0-2 a year.

Wuqu' Kawoq is a community-led organization created in 2007 to transform healthcare and foster health equity in rural Guatemala. As one of the only organizations in Guatemala providing comprehensive healthcare in indigenous Mayan languages, it serves more than 11,000 patients in over 35,000 visits annually in seven languages. More than 80% of the staff is indigenous, 85% are women and 95% are Guatemalan.

Our speaker, Anne Kraemer, is an anthropologist and a co-founder of Maya Health Alliance | Wuqu’ Kawoq, an organization created in 2007 to transform health in rural Guatemala.

She has served as Executive Director/Chief Executive Officer since 2009. Her passion is amplifying the voices of women and girls to foster community-driven, high-impact, culturally and linguistically appropriate programs that promote health and reproductive rights in underserved indigenous Maya communities.

Anne trained as a cultural anthropologist at the University of Kansas, where she received her master’s degree and completed doctoral coursework. She received a Fulbright scholarship in 2007. Anne lives in Guatemala with her daughters. She speaks Kaqchikel and Spanish.

To learn more:

https://www.mayahealth.org

The research page: https://www.mayahealth.org/research/

Maternal-infant health page: https://www.mayahealth.org/maternal-health/

Video showing our maternal-infant health app in action: https://vimeo.com/824788956

Celebrating 10 years since their first Magical Bridge playground opened in 2015, the foundation just completed its 10th custom playground this year.

Olenka Villarreal is founder and CEO of Magical Bridge Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating the world's most inclusive playgrounds for guests of all ages and all abilities, far surpassing what is typically known as "accessible." With a passion for community-building, Olenka leads the foundation's efforts to create a more inclusive world through these innovative spaces coupled with their multi-generational programs.

It's a child's first outdoor classroom, yet it's incredible that today's public playgrounds do not serve the needs of most children and their families. About 25% of us live with a visible or invisible disability, and data continues to show more outdoor time is critical to our mental health. So why aren't playgrounds built to be places of community connections that serve today's families, from the youngest to the oldest?

As the only design that considers the whole family, Magical Bridge is committed to creating more inclusive communities through its truly magical playgrounds and multi-generational programs. Learn how we are different and we invite you to understand why "accessible" is no longer enough, and a Magical Bridge means every"body."

To learn more, go to:

https://www.magicalbridge.org/