AMWA’s Work in Global Health

AMWA is a member association of the Medical Women’s International Association (MWIA) through which members can engage and connect with women physicians around the world. MWIA Congresses are held every three years around the world, and AMWA hosted the Centennial Congress in New York City in 2019. The Founding President of MWIA was Dr. Esther Pohl Lovejoy, a past president and long-time leader within AMWA. AMWA physician members are granted dual membership within MWIA, and trainees and non-physicians are granted associate membership in MWIA. MWIA is a participating non-governmental organization (NGO) at the United Nations and the World Health Organization. AMWA members can participate in MWIA committees and run for positions within the MWIA Executive Board.

AMWA Executive Director Dr. Eliza Chin and MWIA President Dr. Eleanor Nwadinobi with Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Association

Through MWIA, AMWA leaders have participated at the World Health Assembly in Geneva. Read the report from 2023.

AMWA is also an organization affiliated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications. We host a parallel event every year at the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Read one of our reports here.

AMWA’s global health work also spans all trainee divisions, each with their own programs, including the Anne C. Carter Global Health Fellowship available to medical students. The AMWA Resident Division also supports Global Health Interests as does the Medical Student Division.

In addition, the American Women’s Hospitals Service (AWHS), the longest running program in AMWA, founded in 1917, provides global health aid around the world. AWHS grew out of the commitment of a group of women physicians to treat the wounded in World War I.  After the war, AWHS continued throughout the 20th century to provide care during medical emergencies, establish public health services, and bring medical treatment to underserved communities. AWHS provides grants of up to $1,500 for assistance with transportation costs associated with medical studies or service projects conducted abroad where the medically neglected will benefit as well as community project grants locally. Clinic grants also support efforts in Uganda, Haiti, and Nepal where access to care is limited. Other programs have included a period poverty campaign with the First Lady’s Office in Suriname, emergency medical supplies during COVID-19 to areas of need, and earthquake and war relief efforts in Eastern Europe. Read more about the legacy of AWHS and its continued impact. Learn about the history of women physicians in WWI through AMWA’s film and on-line and traveling exhibition.

Additional global health resources can be found in AMWA’s Initiatives section.