Global Initiative for Better Health, Inc. (GIBH) successfully held its first fundraising gala on November 21st, 2015. The event was attended by over 350 supporters and sponsors. The keynote speech was delivered by Dr. Senait Fisseha who currently serves as the Director of International Programs at Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation. Dr. Fisseha shared her experience and presented a detailed account of the current global issues related to maternal, neonatal, and early childhood mortality in Ethiopia and other developing countries. Dr. Fisseha underlined the importance of GIBH’s quality improvement initiative to reduce preventable death and disability in pregnant women and newborns. She, in particular, emphasized the timeliness of GIBH’s initiative at a time when the focus of the Ethiopian health sector is shifting to that of building capacity and quality in tertiary care to further impact the health of women and children in Ethiopia after having met the World Health Organization’s (WHO) millennium development goals (MDG). Her passionate and expert presentation drew admiration from the audience.
Another highlight of the gala was a documentary that detailed, in short, the services and needs of the Gandhi Memorial Hospital. This was very instrumental in connecting the audience with the work at hand.
The proceeds from the fund-raiser will be used to implement GIBH’s pilot quality improvement project at Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. GIBH plans to expand its quality initiative to other hospitals in Ethiopia and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa after it benchmarks best practices.
GIBH would like to express its heartfelt thanks to its volunteers, supporters, and sponsors who made its first fundraising event a big success!