International Women’s Day 2021 – Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
How can women be empowered by Self-Care?
We all want the power to invest in our wellbeing – to be able to take care of our emotional, physical and mental health. But without reliable information and appropriate tools, reasonable options and adequate support, it’s not always possible.
Self-care is changing the face of healthcare. It focuses on equipping and entrusting people to take a central role in their own health. For women, this can involve an important shift to being able to make decisions about their own care, when they may not have had this autonomy before.
In delivering their programmes to those who need it the most, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF, also known as Doctors Without Borders) has seen how self-care can improve healthcare access and quality.
So this International Women’s Day (8 March 2021) MSF is sharing what self-care can achieve to empower women and girls in crisis-affected communities to enjoy healthier lives, just like women anywhere else in the world.
Digital Storytellers is honoured to support MSF with digital storytelling for International Women’s Day. This year we’ve worked together to bring to light the personal stories of Mumcy and Thoko, two brave women from Eswatini in Africa (formerly Swaziland). Mumcy’s story highlights self-care through taking preventative medication against HIV. Thoko’s story shows how HIV self-testing can help women overcome entrenched social barriers.
Self-care empowers women because it gives them access to information and services that allow them to decide on what works best for them. Women gain choices, and autonomy.
Self-care also allows women to help and take care of others in their community, by sharing reliable information peer-to-peer, delivering care as community health workers, and engaging with people within the same lived experience and health needs.
Find out more about the incredible work of MSF and their powerful advocacy for women at:
Category
STORIES