Strength in Numbers

A Profile of Grace Delano, CEDPA ICPD Coalition Participant.

“Strength is in numbers, that strength facilitated the success we made,” explained Grace Delano, reproductive health expert and CEDPA alumna. Grace was one of the 50 plus women leaders who joined CEDPA in Cairo for the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994. The conference marked a turning point in development when focus was finally shifted to women.

“ICPD was very important because women were highly marginalized and exploited, and maternal mortality rates were ridiculously high. They did not have a voice,” said Grace.

Growing up in Nigeria, Grace understood the obstacles women faced in developing countries. Her life was shaped, but not defined by them. With the support of her family, Grace pushed aside gender stereotypes and attended an all boys school to get a good education, which was not common for girls in that time period.

Encouraged by her older brother, she defied convention again by participating in both wrestling and boxing. “He prepared me to be independent, brave and not discriminated against,” she explained. Her choice in career was due to her mother’s influence. Grace saw the reproductive health issues that her mother faced, so she decided to become a nurse and midwife. She wanted to ensure she was always in a position to help women.

The other women from around the globe in the CEDPA coalition had similar stories. They were strong women leaders, who refused to be ignored. “We felt it was only by participating in ICPD that the world would hear about the challenges women were going through. We knew people would listen because the officials, stakeholders were there,” Grace said.

And listen they did. As part of the CEDPA coalition, Grace and her fellow participants were trained on advocacy, strategic planning and visibility in an arena where women’s voices typically were not heard.

For most coalition members, this was building on previous CEDPA trainings. Grace was an alumna from CEDPA’s first Women in Management (WIM) course in 1978. The WIM training helped guide her in the running of her organization, the well-known Association for Reproductive and Family Health, as they disseminated information and improved knowledge of the people throughout villages and towns in all the regions in Nigeria. The ICPD advocacy training built on the skills of the participants and created a supportive, cohesive coalition that was a force to be reckoned with at the conference.

“I remember we supported each other by attending sessions together, coaching each other through difficult advocacy meetings, walking as a group throughout the halls and debriefing at the end of each day,” said Grace. “We weren’t just ordinary voices. We were strong empowered voices.”

The coalition met nightly to review the day’s events and create strategies about the next day’s agenda. They strengthen their own work, and strengthen the information they provided the delegates. These women leaders went to ICPD with a purpose. Grace promised her fellow Nigerians that she would go to ICPD and make a difference, she and the coalition did.

“I was able to come back to Nigeria, not leaving out the villages, and say, ‘We made our voices heard, things will change,’” Grace said. “We went to make something out of nothing , and I’m glad we didn’t come back empty handed.”

They came back with the ICPD Programme of Action. The work for the coalition did not end at the conference. When the leaders returned to their countries, they put together strategies on how to implement the plan they worked so hard to inform. They worked with each other and across borders to implement programs. Grace used her CEDPA training to raise funds and conduct step down trainings for women in Nigeria.

“Now in Nigeria, young girls have role models to look up to like Sarah Jubril, 2011 Presidential candidate, or Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the first female Finance Minister in Nigeria,” said Grace. “But, violence against women is still a major problem, and education for girls should be free and compulsory.”

ICPD has improved the situation for millions of women around the world, but there is still much to be done. Just as in 1994, Grace still believes that advocacy is one of the most important things that young people need to learn in preparation for 2014.

“There is always a need to strengthen and empower women,” said Grace.”There is also a need for us to learn from the past. I was proud to be part of the CEDPA group because we made them listen, and they listened!”

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