Marleen Temmerman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 24 March 1953 Lokeren, Belgium |
| Website | www.fondsmarleentemmerman.be |
Marleen Temmerman (born 24 March 1953 in Lokeren, Belgium) is a Belgian gynaecologist, professor and former Senator, currently heading the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health [1] at Aga Khan University in Nairobi, Kenya. [2]
 | This section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification .(April 2018) |
Temmerman has worked in various locations around the world for the health and rights of women and children. Most of her work is in the academic and political international arena, particularly in collaboration with United Nations organizations, such as WHO and UNFPA, as well as the European Union, the African Union, national governments in Europe and Africa, as well as with media and civil society.
Temmerman's diverse skills in academics, science, management and politics, in conjunction with her work in the area of women, children and adolescents' health and rights, led The Lancet to call her "a polymath in reproductive health". [3] Her advocacy efforts for women's health and rights inspired the Irish rock band U2, during their concert on 1 August 2017 in the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels, to include her in the list of inspiring women ("Women of the World Unite") who were put in the spotlight during the song "Ultra Violet (Light My Way)".
Temmerman studied Medicine at Ghent University in Belgium. This choice was primarily made out of social engagement.[ clarification needed ] Her first contact with Africa during an internship in Butare, Rwanda, in 1975 raised her interest in the health and rights of women living in low- and middle-income countries.
Trained in obstetrics and gynaecology, tropical medicine and public health, Temmerman was a junior researcher in the 1980s and later a research leader and mentor. She started with research in infertility at the General Hospital of the Free University of Brussels, and followed with clinical epidemiological research on sexually transmitted diseases and HIV at the Department of Microbiology at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, under the leadership of Peter Piot. This position included a lecturing and research assignment at the University of Nairobi, where she was a member of the WHO Collaborative Centre on HIV/STI, Department of Medical Microbiology. She lived in Kenya from 1986 to 1992.
Back in Belgium in 1992, Temmerman founded the International Centre for Reproductive Health (ICRH) at Ghent University, which has sister research organizations in Kenya (ICRHK) and Mozambique (ICRHM) and a large global collaborative academic network. ICRH obtained research funding from the European Commission, the Belgian development cooperation (DGD, BTC]), the Flemish development cooperation (VLIR, FICA), the Special Research Fund (BOF) of Ghent University and other organizations. Many of these research activities took place in sub-Saharan Africa and involved implementation research on a broad range of sexual and reproductive health issues, including HIV/AIDS. In addition, research collaborations were set up with other European countries, China, India, Central and Latin America, Australia and the Russian Federation. ICRH is a WHO Collaborating Centre on Reproductive Health since 2004, and a UNFPA preferential partner.
Since 1995, she has been a full professor of OB/GYN at Ghent University in Belgium, currently[ when? ] with leave of absence. During her over 30 years of clinical work as an obstetrician she supervised over 18,000 births in many parts of the world. She established a worldwide network of universities in the field of reproductive, maternal, newborn and adolescent health, leading to measurable outputs[ clarification needed ] with over 500 publications [4] and around 50 PhD supervisions in Europe, Africa, Latin America and China.
In 2012, Temmerman was appointed Director of the Department of Reproductive Health and Research of the World Health Organization. RHR is the main instrument within the United Nations system for research in human reproduction and sexual and reproductive health, bringing together policy-makers and programmers, scientists, health care providers, clinicians, consumers and community representatives to identify and address priorities for research to improve sexual and reproductive health. She provided strategic leadership for WHO within the context of ICPD beyond 2014, Beijing+20 and the post 2015 MDGs and Sustainable Development Goals discussions and led on behalf of WHO the development of the technical content for the Global Strategy on Every Women, Every Child, Every Adolescent 2016–2030. [5] [6]
In December 2015, she retired from the World Health Organization and is since working at Aga Khan University (AKU), based in Nairobi, Kenya as Head of Department Obstetrics & Gynaecology and Director of the Centre of Excellence in Women and Child Health. [7]
While in this position, in 2019, Temmerman was also appointed UNESCO Chair on Youth Leadership. [8]
Temmerman began her political career with Agalev, the Flemish Green Party. In 2001 she became member of the town council of Lokeren on behalf of Agalev. In 2004 she joined the Socialist Party (sp.a). She was elected as a senator to the Belgian Parliament in 2007 where she served until 2012 as a member of the Commission on Social Affairs, the Committee on European Affairs, the Advisory Committee on Equal Opportunities between Women and Men, and the Committee on the Monitoring of Foreign Missions. [9] In that capacity, she was member of the European Parliamentary Forum and Chair of the HIV/AIDS Advisory Group of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. In 2011 she succeeded Johan Vande Lanotte as fraction leader in the Senate. As an expert on women's health and as a politician, she served as a member of the UN iERG (independent expert review group) till 2012. In autumn 2012 she left politics to become Director of the Department of Reproductive Health and Research at the World Health Organization. Her successor in the Belgian Senate was Leona Detiège.
On 8 February 2011, after 244 days without Belgian government and inspired by the Aristophanes comedy Lysistrata , she suggested to the spouses of Belgian politicians to ban sex until the country forms a government. [10] [11]
Temmerman has authored over 600 books and articles in the area of women's health, with a Hirsch index of 98. She published a series of books for the broader public (in Dutch: Onrust in de Onderbuik, Bekentenissen uit de Onderbuik, Milady, Mama Daktari) with stories about women and girls' lives. She has also contributed to a series of online educational videos on pregnancy and childbirth.
Temmerman has received several awards and honours for her research and advocacy work, including:
Ghent University established the Marleen Temmerman Fund which relies entirely on voluntary donations. With this Fund the Ghent University honours her faculty staff member and helps to improve the situation of numerous women and children.
Temmerman is married and has a son.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
Media related to Marleen Temmerman at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Other | |
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health that vary amongst countries around the world. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:
Reproductive rights rest on the recognition of the basic right of all couples and individuals to decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so, and the right to attain the highest standard of sexual and reproductive health. They also include the right of all to make decisions concerning reproduction free of discrimination, coercion and violence.
Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, health care, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual well-being during all stages of their life. Sexual and reproductive health is more commonly defined as sexual and reproductive health and rights, to encompass individual agency to make choices about their sexual and reproductive lives.
Dance4life is an international youth initiative to raise awareness and promote prevention of HIV/AIDS.
The status of women in Ghana and their roles in Ghanaian society has changed over the past few decades. There has been a slow increase in the political participation of Ghanaian women throughout history. Women are given equal rights under the Constitution of Ghana, yet disparities in education, employment, and health for women remain prevalent. Additionally, women have much less access to resources than men in Ghana do. Ghanaian women in rural and urban areas face slightly different challenges. Throughout Ghana, female-headed households are increasing.
Population Action International (PAI) is an international, civil society organization that uses research and advocacy to improve global access to family planning and reproductive health care. Its mission is to "advance universal access to sexual and reproductive health and rights through advocacy, partnerships and the funding of changemakers". PAI's headquarters is in Washington, D.C.
Amici del Mondo World Friends Onlus is an independent Italian non-profit association of social utility for international cooperationWorld Friends is a Non-Governmental Organization recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs by Law no. 125 of 2014 updated to July 16, 2016, registered in the register of ONLUS and the Register of Legal Persons D.P.R. 361. Recognized by the Government of Kenya as a Non-governmental organization (NGO), in 2011 obtained the same accreditation at the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Established in 2001, the association has its head offices in Rome and has volunteer-based regional offices in Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Sicily. The association's African office is based in Nairobi.
Sarah Degnan Kambou is president of the International Center for Research on Women (ICRW), a global research institute that focuses on making women integral to alleviating poverty worldwide.
The Global Strategy for Women's and Children's Health was a program of the United Nations (UN) directed at improving women's and children's health in the developing world.
Petra De Sutter is a Belgian gynaecologist and politician, currently serving as federal Deputy Prime Minister.
Nduku Kilonzo is the executive director of the National Aids Control Council (NACC) of Kenya.
Agnes Odhiambo was a Kenyan human rights activist, who worked as a senior researcher and advocate for women's rights at Human Rights Watch, from 2009 to 2023.
Stellah Wairimu Bosire, is a Kenyan physician, corporate executive, human rights activist and author, a former co-executive director of Uhai Eashri and previously served as the chief executive officer of Kenya Medical Association and as the vice-chair of the HIV and AIDS Tribunal of Kenya.
Nyovani Janet Madise is the current director of research and sustainable development policies and head of the Malawi office of the African Institute for Development Policy. She is an advisor to the World Health Organization and a former professor at the University of Southampton in demography and social statistics. Nyovani has over 100 peer-reviewed research publications that focus on global health issues to highlight the influence of social and economic factors on health in low-income countries.
Abortion in Kenya is prohibited with the exception of certain circumstances including danger to the life and health of the expectant mother, and rape. Unsafe abortions are a major cause of deaths and health complications for women in Kenya.
Elizabeth Anne Bukusi FAAS is a research professor working within the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, and global health. Bukusi's main areas of research focus around sexually transmitted infections, women's health, reproductive health, and HIV care, prevention and treatment. Bukusi is the Chief Research Officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and led a "landmark" study on the use of PrEP in Kenya.
Karithi Ruth Wanjiru Nduati is a Kenyan Pediatrician and Epidemiologist who also teaches at the University of Nairobi College of Health Sciences. She is also currently leading an interdisciplinary program through the University of Nairobi School of Medicine to educate physician-researchers to best implement HIV treatment and prevention methods backed by research. The program was funded by the Fogarty Training Grant which is a part of the PEPFAR funds the country of Kenya received.
Cindy Amaiza is a Kenyan HIV/AIDS activist. She is a student living in Nairobi. She is associated with Partnership to Inspire, Transform, and Connect the HIV response (PITCH) partner organization Ambassador for Youth and Adolescent Reproductive Health Program (AYARHEP). She is also the founder of Y+ Kenya, which united young people living with HIV such as herself from six separate Kenyan organizations into a national AYPLHIV network.
Nelly Mugo is a Kenyan obstetrician, gynaecologist and scientist involved in HIV and cervical cancer prevention research. She is a Research Associate Professor, Global Health in the University of Washington and the Center for Clinical Research, Kenya Medical Research Institute. She is also a member of the African Academy of Sciences. In 2021, Mugo became the inaugural recipient of the Gita Ramjee Prize.
Walter Aduda Mgoye Godfrey Jaoko is a Kenyan professor of medical microbiology and tropical medicine. He is the director of Kenya AIDS Vaccine Initiative (KAVI) and a professor at University of Nairobi, University of Alabama and Stellenbosch University.
