The Journey to Authentic Leadership

I am a feminist and a communicator by profession. I have always been passionate about Communications. Beyond my high self-esteem, courage and confidence, I aim at being an effective and fearless communicator. I also plan to be of benefit to women as well as my country, Kenya.

My leadership journey began at the age of 19, when I started educating women on poverty eradication in Molo, Nakuru County, Kenya. I strongly believed that a society can be transformed by embracing development. I was so sure that there was a great future for development and a lot needed to be done to address poverty. I worked with women by empowering them with skills such as how to identify economic opportunities and how to access credit to start-up businesses.

I know that my purpose for being involved in development issues is to be a champion for development that is sustainable. After a few years of working with the community and seeing all the positive changes that had taken place, I founded the Communication for Sustainable Development Foundation, a platform that I use to address the issues of Sustainable Development. I got a better opportunity to address the issue of poverty eradication and how to create a poverty free sustainable future under the social pillar of sustainable development.

 In 2012, I saw a call on Facebook for the YWLI Bi-annual Feminist Leadership Institute. I knew this would be a great opportunity for me to build my leadership capacity and make personal connections with a great group of young women. I was over the moon, when I was accepted! At the Institute I went through a phase of self-development during which I sought to understand myself better. I understood who I am and where I am heading to. I learnt that I don’t suffer from any deficiency by being a young woman who is a leader. I learnt that ‘I am enough’. I also got the affirmation that I was on the right path. I discovered that being vocal on issues around me was among my strengths. I redefined the picture of the person I see when I look at myself in the mirror. This has made me redefine my destiny. I learnt that I’m not a weak being, but rather I am a strong woman whose abilities should be anchored more and more.

To date when I stand to speak in any given space I do not forget to say that “I am a feminist”. To celebrate my feminist journey, I started a blog titled: “We the Women, our Journeys” (https://wethewomenourjourneys.wordpress.com/). This is a safe space for women to share the stories of their journeys. Through the blog, I hope to encourage women that the path they are treading on, is a familiar path that many have walked before. I also hope to use the feminist blog as platform to highlight the issues that women go through.

One thing that was so outstanding during and after the Institute was that I was never alone.

Someone walked in front of me, I was guided correctly. Later someone walked beside me; I always had company and was advised. Finally someone is walking closely behind me, YES, BEHIND ME – to make sure that I am safe and secure. I know that I can count on YWLI, my fellow alumni and the facilitators at all times.

By Esther Mwangi

Young Women's Leadership Institute (YWLI) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or YWLI please follow the links below.
www.iie.org/
www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 
www.ywli.org 

Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab

Bio-similar of breast cancer drug launched but still out of reach for most

Press Statement, 20 January, 2014

The Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab welcomes the announcement that the Indian pharmaceutical company Biocon will now market in India the world’s first bio-similar of the breast cancer drug  trastuzumab.

The marketing of the bio-similar so soon after the removal of patent barriers vindicates our stand in challenging and opposing the secondary patents and divisional patents on trastuzumab sought by Roche in India. We urge patient organisations and civil society groups in other countries to remain vigilant and resist similar attempts by pharma majors to reap unethical profits at the cost of millions of lives. 

The bio-similar to be marketed under the brand name of CANMAb is expected to be available in the Indian market from 1 February 2014 and will be sold in 150 milligram or 440 milligram vials.

Announcing the launch of the biosimilar, Ms. Kiran Majumdar-Shaw, CEO Biocon, reiterated her commitment to affordable treatment for Indian women with HER2+ breast cancer.

However, a quick back-of-the-envelope calculation reveals that the introduction of the bio-similar will have little or no impact in terms of expanded access. Many Roche dealers already offer discounts to "steady customers" - patients needing long-term treatment - such that the “street price” of trastuzumab (Herclon) ranges from Rs.55,000/- to Rs.57,000/- for a vial of 440 mg. Biocon’s price for the bio-similar is not significantly lower than what is available from Roche today.

The Roche product (Herceptin)  was first marketed in India at Rs.1,20,000/ with the price being reduced to Rs.92,000/- per 440 mg vial soon after the launch of our campaign. The product was later rebranded as Herclon and is currently priced at Rs.75,000/- per 440 mg vial. The price announced by Biocon is approximately Rs. 56,000 per vial of 440 mg according to the company press release which says that the drug will be priced at 25% less than the current reference price charged by Roche.

In developed countries, the Roche product is sold in vial sizes of 60 mg, 150 mg, and 440 mg. In India, Roche markets only the 440 mg/vial. Since dosage depends on body weight, a patient weighing say 60 kgs and needing 480 mg per dose, was forced to buy two vials at a time. Biocon’s marketing of the 150 mg will increase the ability of a patient to buy the drug in the amount of the drug needed for each dose, rather than raise the money needed for an additional vial of 440 mg.

However, the introduction of the bio-similar will make little or no difference to women whose income is less than Rs.30,000/- per month. For these women – who constitute 75% of the population[1] and include not only the very poor but also the aspiring middle class - CANMAb is as much out of reach as Roche’s Herceptin and Herclon.

Realistically, only families with an income of Rs 75,000/- or more can afford a monthly dose of CANMAb. Such families constitute less than 10% of the population. Biocon's expectation that the introduction of CANMAb will “expand the patient pool” is therefore unlikely to become reality.

We urge Biocon (and its commercial partner the US pharmaceutical company Mylan Laboratories) to demonstrate their commitment to affordable treatment by bringing the price of CANMAb to below Rs. 1000/- for the 150 mg vial and Rs.5000/- for the 440 mg vial. This will not only give Indian women with HER2+ breast cancer a chance for a healthy and productive life, but will expand the patient pool far beyond the borders of the country and bring relief to the millions of women in developing countries who are battling this disease.

We should not forget that so-called “voluntary price reductions” by pharma companies, couched though they may be in the language of social responsibility, have more to do with securing market dominance than with any concern for patients or their rights. We therefore reiterate our call to the Government of India to take decisive steps to regulate the prices of biologicals (whether originators or biosimilars) like trastuzumab and pegylated interferon that are currently priced out of reach of the majority of those whose lives these drugs can save.

(signed) Kalyani Menon-Sen, Campaign Coordinator

For more information, please contact:

Kalyani Menon-Sen +91-9910306382

Leena Menghaney +91-9811365412

[1]  Income distribution figures based on NCAER data for 2010

*Roche does not market the 150 mg/vial in India

* Trastuzumab 440 mg from Roche is marketed in India under the brand names Herceptin and Herclon 

* Biocon has a partnership agreement with Mylan for global development & commercialization of trastuzumab

* Biocon Press Release is available at http://donttradeourlivesaway.wordpress.com/2014/01/18/biosimilar-of-breast-cancer-drug-trastuzumab-launched-in-india/#more-6897

* In India, the usual protocol for patients with HER+ breast cancer involves intravenous trastuzumab at three-weekly intervals for 12 months (approximately 17 cycles), at an initial loading dose of trastuzumab is 8 mg/kg body weight, followed up with the maintenance dose at 6 mg/kg body weight. A patient weighing 60 kgs will need 480 mg as the loading dose and then 360 mg for the maintenance doses every three weeks.   A patient weighing 65 kgs will need 520 mg as the loaded dose and then 390 mg for the maintenance doses every three weeks.  

Background documents and updates from the Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab:  

August 2013: Press Release, Campaign for Affordable Trastuzumab welcomes the dismissal of Trastuzumab’s divisional patent applications, http://infojustice.org/archives/30408

August 2013: Statement, Roche relinquishes Trastuzumab patent in India, Campaign urges approval of bio-similars, http://infojustice.org/archives/30478

January 2013: Compulsory License for Anti-Cancer Drugs – Update from Campaign for 

Affordable Trastuzumab, http://infojustice.org/archives/28247

March 2013:  Letter to Indian Minister of Commerce, http://kafila.org/2013/03/08/campaign-for-affordable-trastuzumab/

November 2012: Letter to Indian Prime Minister,

http://donttradeourlivesaway.files.wordpress.com/2013/01/letter-to-pm-on-herceptin_final.pdf

Ruth Mumbi -A Socialist Feminist who believes in the Reaffirmation of Human Values

Happy New Year!

Our journey of sharing voices of women who have undertaken the African Women’s Leadership Institute and how it has continued to transform their lives and communities continues…

This Month presents us with story of one very courageous young woman from the informal settlements of Kenya who firmly believes in the voices of rural women as key stakeholders in the creation of a just and equitable society. I trust that her leadership journey will also inspire and encourage us to reflect on our past as we seek to shape a new future. This is what she shared with us in her own words…

Tell us about your self

My name is Ruth Mumbi a Community Organizer, Human and Women Rights Defender in the informal settlements in Kenya. I was born and brought up in the informal settlement of MathareKiamaiko Village where I still live to date. I am the Coordinator and the Founder Member of BUNGE LA WAMAMA MASHINANI (WOMEN PARLIAMENT), which is a movement of grassroots women, organized in form of caucuses whose main objective is to amplify the voice of the women and give them a voice through documentation.

I am an alumnus of the African Women Leadership Institute (AWLI)2010, and an initiator of WAREMBO NI YES a movement of young women in Kenya and that was led by young women to drum up support for the new Kenyan Constitution. As a movement we educated young women on their rights hence making them to vote yes. This movement was conceived shortly after the AWLI training. Although WAREMBO had its challenges like any other movement it was also a success story and has remained to be an inspiration to many.

In 2013 I was nominated and became a finalist of theFrontline Defenders International Human Rights Award which was hotly contested by participants from over 100 countries across the globe. The Frontline Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk was established 2005 to honor the work of human rights defenders or a group of human rights defenders who through nonviolent work are courageously making an outstanding contribution to the promotion and the protection of the human rights of others often at great personal risk to themselves. I truly proud to have received this honorary

Currently I also serve on the Advisory Board of Bridge International Group based in the UK a global group of likeminded enthusiastic and committed people working on gender and social movements in a variety of areas and regions and in many different languages, we support Bridge on various issues including strategic directions, thematic areas to focus upon, regional content and influence marketing/dissemination, networking and impact.

What are some of your unique qualities that define your personality as an African woman of strength

I am confident, informed, consistent, a good listener ready to learn and out-going.

What was your AWLI experience like?   How has it impacted on your personal life and career development?

Through the contacts that I made during the AWLI we managed as the Kenyan delegation to initiate a movement of young women to rally and campaign dubbed WAREMBO NI YES, the movement mobilized the voices of young women to understand rights and the need for a constitution that upholds human rights for the then new constitution which became law.

 What were the unique aspects of the AWLI training? Are there some lessons you got from AWLI that have proved particularly effective on improving your work with women?

Some of the unique aspects of the AWLI training that vividly stand out for me to date were the sites of feminist leadership and locating where they occur, such as the family, clan, tribe or community and where feminist transformative leadership is practiced especially by women and their grassroots movements seeking transformation at the community level where majority of women are based and must negotiate their lives and their rights.

The lesson of documentation of the struggle of women at the community level has really worked for me as an individual and as an organization.

Through the AWLI I also learnt the importance of identifying an issue that is affecting a community and rallying behind it would make people who are affected by it to relate with it in a much deeper sense.I also learnt how to fundraise through the contacts I met who were a diverse group.

Would you recommend any young woman to undertake the AWLI training?

Yes! I would strongly recommend any young lady to this training as this is a space that will build your capacity and create networking opportunities with different young women from different background and of diverse background.

What do you think has supported the women’s movement through the years and how have they been able to deal with the challenges they continually face as they advocate for women’s rights?

Women face similar problems.  Women’s determination in wanting to see good for everyone in the society; they’re living in unequal situations with male gender driving them to fight for equality and equalization has been a motivation. The fullness of women’s own potential, the strength of women and common self-interest with each other and common oppression bonds women together hence making women to realise the importance of each other in the movement as they fight for liberation.

 What are some of the new challenges and new opportunities facing African women’s organising today and how best can we seize these opportunities.

The biggest challenge is the institutionalized system of oppression based on the domination of men over women that is based on hostile social relations. On the brighter side of things through these challenges women have realized and learned their fullness of potential as women of strength and are working through these issues to see that all human beings regardless of their sex are accorded the same human dignity.

Elitism; the movement seems to be overshadowed by the highly educated who purport to represent the marginalized and local woman.

The question of generational gaps cannot be ignored here, older women refuse to give up the space to young women and hardly mentor /nurture due to fear of being overtaken.

What is your message for any young women interested in political leadership in Country?

It is not an easy road. However our predecessors have made footpaths. What is remaining is ours as young women to tarmac those foot paths. 

Which one thing would you want the world to remember you for?

I want to be remembered as Socialist feminist who believes in the reaffirmation of human values, ideals of sisterhood: taking care of people, being sensitive to people's needs and developing potential.

AKina Mama wa Afrika (AMwA) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or AMwA please follow the links below.
www.iie.org/
www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 

www.akinamamawaafrika.org/

The health dividend while preventing climate change, changes one village woman at a time 

Genevieve Nyirabagabe from Gatsibo District in Eastern Province dreads the cost of cooking fuel. Before she acquired the Save80 wood stove, it would cost her at least 12,000 Rwandan Francs (Rwf) to buy charcoal per month.

When she did not have the money – which was often – she had to spare time two or so day to gather firewood – usually agricultural residues, scraps of wood or fallen sticks wherever they may find them.

Now, with a few bits of wood, costing a minimal Rwf 2800 per month, she can cook a meal for her entire family. The stove can cook meal for a total of eight people.

Acquiring the stove has proved empowering, not only in terms of money, but also with the time saved.

The time the she used to spare to look for firewood she now employs in other activities. This has allowed her to dedicate more time to her women group involved in socio-economic activities.

Now not only does she have more time on her hands, but is are also making a little income through her women’s group.

Genevieve’s example is only a snap-shot of the impact the stove is having, multiplied many times with the empowering effect it is having in many women’s lives who no longer now have to rely on their husbands as they used to.

“This is one of the best things to happen to the women,” say Mary Balikungeri, RWN Director. “The stove has turned out to be one of the most potent tools in the RWN strategy to empower women.” The Save80 Stove project is a partnership between RWN and Atmosfair, a Germany-based organization whose main objective is reduce carbon dioxide emission in the atmosphere.

Extensive use of firewood and charcoal

In Rwanda, biomass is the largest source of energy, with firewood and wood for charcoal making up around 80 per cent of the total. Agricultural residues and peat make another six per cent. Petroleum and electricity account for the rest. This suggests that almost every household and institution in Rwanda must use either firewood or charcoal for cooking.

Firewood and charcoal can be extremely inefficient in terms of energy use. To begin with, it has been established that for every kilogramme of charcoal produced, nine kilogrammes of wood have to be used.

Traditional charcoal stoves and the three-stone fires, quite inefficient in their fuel utilization, are still widely in use in kitchens across the hills. 

To be energy efficient, heat needs to be concentrated on the cooking pot in order to make maximum use of the energy. 

The flame from the three-stone and the heat from charcoal stove tend to be dissipated into surrounding, leading to excessive use of the fuel which demands more fuel.

The Save80 stove concentrates the heat to the pot, ensuring that it doesn’t get lost.

The subsidized stove comes with “wonderbox”, and works on a simple principle of retaining heat and conservation of high temperatures.  For instance, the food is bought to a boil in the stoves using a small stick or two of firewood, after which it is immediately placed in a “wonderbox” that continues with the cooking until the food is ready. The “wonderbox” preserves the heat and continuing with the cooking.

Health Dividend

Other than empowering the women, as the example of Genevieve illustrates, the importance of the stove is not obvious until one looks at the facts, especially as they may affect Rwanda’s mainly rural population as a result of global carbon dioxide emission.

Carbon dioxide, emitted when burning wood or charcoal, causes the greenhouse effect. Among other gases it traps heat in the atmosphere leading to global warming, which is responsible for increased drought and changing weather patterns.

With more households using the stove, not only in Rwanda but across Africa, the impact would be immeasurable.

To take the example of Rwanda, according to a study by the Stockholm Environment Institute, the country could suffer economic costs amounting to 1 percent of annual GDP by 2030 due to global warming. The institute predicts a temperature rise of between 1.5 and 3 degrees Celsius by the 2050s.

The study notes that a large proportion of the rural population in Rwanda currently lives at altitudes beyond the normal mosquito habitat. 

It explains that as temperatures rise, so will the threshold altitude, increasing by 150% the number of Rwandans at risk of Malaria by 2050. The potential healthcare costs are of the order of $50 million per annum.

Therefore, other than empowering the women, the stove project harbours a health dividend.

Rwanda Women's Network (RWN) is one of the four partner institutes of the African Centers of Excellence (ACE) for Women's Leadership program run by the Institute of International Education (IIE) , Ethiopia Office.

For more on IIE , ACE or RWN please follow the links below.

www.iie.org/

www.iie.org/en/Programs/ACE-for-Womens-Leadership, 

www.rwandawomennetwork.org