Among the Mothers of Nations: GEANCO's leaders meet with Africa's first ladies at historic health summit

Dad (Dr. Godwin Onyema) and I (Afam Onyema) were honored and delighted to represent the GEANCO family as we sponsored and participated in the first-ever "African First Ladies Leadership for Health Summit," which ran from April 20-21 in Los Angeles. Fifteen first ladies of Africa (Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, the Central African Republic, Kenya, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Tanzania, and Zambia) traveled to California to discuss the problems of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and maternal and infant mortality.

The first ladies had a simple message: too many African mothers and young children are dying of preventable and treatable diseases. Poverty, ignorance and disease are draining away the lifeblood of their nations, and the continent is rotting away from its core outward as a result. These powerful women, mothers of their own children as well as of their nations, came to the US seeking partnerships that would slow and eventually reverse this rot. They found at this summit an eager and passionate group of corporations, foundations and individuals ready and willing to do all they could to help. Dad and I were proud to be among them.

We were joined by Sarah Brown, the wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and Maria Shriver, the first lady of California. Corporate chieftains, foundation leaders, Hollywood celebrity activists, and the leading global health and international development experts also took part in the instructive, constructive, and often sobering discussions.

The summit itself consisted of inspirational calls to action by Brown and Shriver, sound advice from the global health experts, and presentations from various corporation and foundation representatives about what they were doing to help Africa. Each of the first ladies made moving speeches about the specific nature of the crisis plaguing her country.

I have often criticized government officials and their spouses for being too careful, too practiced, too unwilling to show emotion for fear of making some critical political error. These first ladies, however, detailed their nations' healthcare emergencies with such passionate intelligence that I could not help but be impressed and moved. They were a stately, dignified group, to be sure, and while the summit had all the pomp befitting an event featuring the spouses of heads of state, there was no doubt that these fierce women had come to Los Angeles ready to fight for their people's lives.

Dad and I were privileged to lunch privately with First Lady Turai Yar'Adua of Nigeria, and the wives of Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, and the first ladies of the states of Bauchi, Bayelsa and Kano. During our exclusive time with these influential women, we discussed Nigeria's serious maternal and child mortality crisis. We detailed how our hospital and its programs, while providing a wide variety of services, will focus especially on saving vulnerable mothers and young children. They were all excited to learn about GEANCO and our plans for the country, and they promised to play an active part in advancing our work. In fact, as we moved from the salads to the entrees, the first ladies of Bayelsa, Bauchi and Kano launched into a good-natured debate over where GEANCO's next hospital should be located, with each pledging to give us larger and larger plots of free land to entice us to come to their state next. We got up to 500 acres from Bauchi before dessert arrived!

First Lady Yar'Adua was genuinely intrigued by our project. She engaged in an extended conversation with my father about our organization and its goals. She was grateful that we consider Nigeria worthy of a world-class medical facility that will set a new standard for healthcare- a standard she will then push her country's entire public health system to meet.

She promised to support us in any way she could. With the assistance of the Office of the First Lady, we can ensure that all GEANCO-related shipments and cargo will make it swiftly and safely through the country's ports and customs. Our close relationship with the first lady will also benefit us as we secure partnerships with international organizations (like the World Bank), multi-lateral funds (the Global Fund for HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria), and development agencies of foreign countries already working on the federal level in Nigeria.

On Tuesday night, we attended the gala benefit for the summit, which GEANCO sponsored. It was truly an amazing event. Heroes of the fight against disease and poverty were honored, and award-winning musicians performed beautifully before an appreciative audience. The star power was provided by Chris Tucker, Jessica Alba, Paris Hilton, Sharon Stone, Kristin Davis, Billy Zane, Naomi Campbell, Sheryl Crow, Christine Lahti, Amy Brenneman, Natalie Cole, La La Vasquez and Diane Lane.

In a generous gesture that delighted dad and terrified me, Ted Alemayhu, the summit's organizer and mastermind, asked me to come on stage. As we stood in front of 700 people, Ted thanked GEANCO for our involvement. We were the only sponsor actually brought up on stage.

And with that stunning act of gratitude, the gala concluded. It certainly was quite an honor to have such an historic event officially close with a 'thank you' shout to our foundation!

After the gala, dad and I had the opportunity to say goodbye to First Lady Yar'Adua of Nigeria. I asked her if she had any message for our GEANCO family of donors and supporters.

"Thank them for me," she said in a quiet yet passionate tone. "Thank them for remembering my country and my people. Ask them not to forget us. Ask them to remember us always."