Montevideo, November 7, 2022. In the framework of the FIGO Regional Congress held November 3-5 in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, we spoke with FIGO President Jeanne Conry.
Conry highlighted the relevance of the event that "brings together the leaders and decision makers of Latin America in a sense of collaboration and coordination. We say that FIGO is the global voice of women's health, and we are only as strong as FIGO's regional member societies and federations. This meeting shows how strong the Latin American regional federation is and the leadership they have in relation to women's health and rights".
The president also referred to FIGO and FLASOG's link with the Latin American Center for Perinatology - Women's and Reproductive Health (CLAP/WR). "Behind CLAP there is a lot of scientific knowledge and a lot of evidence that is put at the service of improving maternal health, neonatal health and sexual and reproductive health. That is the most important thing, putting knowledge and ideas into practice to effectively impact people's lives. CLAP brings ideas that need to be shared widely".
Regarding the region, Conry considered that there is a moment of great strength and leadership in these issues and, in this sense, she considers that the Latin American processes can be a valuable reference for Africa.
On the difficulties that persist, she said, "I think the world does not believe that women deserve what they deserve. We do not value women's lives. We don't value women's needs and we normalize the abnormal. And, of course, we cannot normalize that, it is not right, we cannot treat women that way, we cannot tolerate violence, we cannot tolerate disrespect and we cannot tolerate ignoring women's needs."
Conry expressed that she is excited about what happened at the congress because she saw a lot of commitment to these causes. "The people here believe in women's health, they believe in the importance of helping so that women can enjoy their rights, there is a lot of enthusiasm in what is being done. For me it has been the most exciting thing about the congress," she concluded.
