#especially amidst my own ongoing gender crisis????

[cyndaquillt]

Konkona Sen Sharma came out as enby us boddis are winning

[madstars-festival]

HIRA MOHIBULLAH: “WITH ADVERTISING, I HELP THOSE WHO DON’T HAVE A VOICE”

Hira Mohibullah is an expert is telling stories that have a positive impact. We’re delighted to welcome her to our Final Jury this year representing BBDO Pakistan, where she is Executive Creative Director.

As the most awarded female creative in Pakistan, Hira Mohibullah believes that storytellers have a responsibility to tell the right kind of stories – especially in an industry as influential as advertising.

Her most notable campaigns include #BridalUniform, which raised awareness of the prevalence of underage brides; #BeatMe for UN Women, which challenged men to “beat” women (at something they excel at; and Chai Ka Nishaan (The Hot Tea Stain), a campaign that raised awareness on child burns caused through negligence around hot tea."

Since joining BBDO Pakistan four years ago, she has won more than 170 international awards for her work. A mother of two, Mohibullah is also an advocate for gender balance in the workplace and helped set up a day-care room at BBDO to encourage more working mothers to join the workforce. 

You live and work in Pakistan. Did you grow up there, too?

I’m a third culture kid, and so I don’t really know what place I call home. I grew up in the Middle East and moved to Pakistan when I was 14. I have very fond memories of my childhood and, quite contrary to popular belief, it was fun being a kid in Saudi Arabia! I had friends from all over the world, and from a very young age I was exposed to different cultures and languages, which I feel has shaped who I am today as a creative.  

What led you to a career in advertising: did you always dream of impacting positive social change through your work?

Growing up, I’ve hopped (all too rapidly) from one dream career to another. One thing that I’ve always known about myself is that I get bored with one thing real quick, and so the versatility that advertising brings to my life every single day is what makes it such a perfect match. Right after I completed my A Levels (after having taken every subject under the sun), I chanced upon the communication design course. There it was, my love for creative writing and design brought miraculously together. Advertising was the most obvious choice after that, and I’ve never looked back since.

In my twenties, while my friends were writing their personal statements for college applications full to the brim with life-changing struggles, I was wishing I had more of a story to tell. I grew up in a house with parents who did not believe in gender discrimination. They had two daughters and they gave us the best education to the best of their abilities. There was absolutely no pressure on us to fit a certain mould. With a great support system, I grew up living a sheltered life of privilege. But today, I realise that’s what my story is: with advertising I use my position of privilege to help those who don’t have a voice. It's all come full circle.

#BridalUniform was an incredibly powerful campaign, which won countless awards – including several at AD STARS. What challenges did you face in bringing it to life?

As with most pro-bono campaigns we do at BBDO, we had absolutely no money to spend on this one. So getting the word out to the entire nation, that it was not okay to marry off underage girls, seemed impossible. That challenge gave birth to a genius solution: we hijacked the biggest bridal fashion show of Pakistan, one that was already being covered by all major media channels in the country. We partnered Ali Xeeshan, Pakistan's foremost bridal wear designer and launched the Bridal Uniform: a merger between a little girl's school uniform and embellishments from a typical bridal outfit. Amidst the pomp and show, out walked the showstopper: a little girl wearing the #BridalUniform, symbolising the trade-off that happens when a child is deprived of her right to an education and instead is dressed as someone's wife. Without spending a dime, we were able to rack up one billion organic impressions.

Creativity can help to bring people together in times of crisis: are there any inspiring initiatives taking place in Pakistan right now? What is BBDO doing to keep its staff motivated during the coronavirus crisis?

It’s overwhelming to see everybody fighting on the same front, for the same cause. It’s brought the industry together in a way nothing ever has. Every brand I work on is doing their part to help the nation cope with this unprecedented struggle. We’re all working from home currently (being amongst the first few to implement the policy) and besides a few teething issues in the start, we’re meeting all our timelines even when the work has doubled in amount. My team and I usually get the brainstorming out of the way earlier in the day and then go our separate ways to finish off the pending tasks. Keeping meticulous checklists of individual workflows has helped me stay afloat by giving me a good visibility on the tasks lined up for the entire week.

What does your typical day look like?

I have two kids who I bring to work with me (a 6 year-old and a 7 month old) and in pre-COVID times, I used to joke about “traveling” to work because I would lug around all their stuff in a mini carry-on... everyday! These days in lockdown, I start early, get my 6 year-old’s homework done and ship him off to another room for his online classes while I find myself a quiet corner to tackle my checklist for the day.  

Do you have a process – is there a way you work through a problem? How much of your creative process happens subconsciously?

I’ve hardly ever had an idea strike me in a dream or in the shower, unlike many other creatives I know. For me, cracking a brief requires a formal session (always with a notebook in hand) where I start from a pain-point, deep-dive into real-world insights, colloquially unlock the idea for relevance, and finally tell the story in the voice of the brand. Also, being bi-lingual helps me tackle the creative process from two different vernacular angles.

Who are your creative heroes and why?

Fernando Machado. He’s brave, unapologetically relentless, he has an eye for what will absolutely shake the world and he’s not afraid to do it!  

You recently spoke at TEDxLahore. What did you talk was about?

My joint talk at TEDx was about the importance of telling the right kind of stories. The stories we hear growing up shape us into the people we are today: they define our limits, our fears and our dreams. As advertisers, we call ourselves storytellers, and so imagine the kind of power we hold to change the lives of those around us. Moiz Khan and I talked about the stories we’ve told in our time at BBDO Pakistan, and how they have positively impacted our society.

As the most awarded female creative in Pakistan, do you have advice for others hoping to ‘make it’ in advertising?

No one makes it in advertising on their own! Find your tribe. Go out there and look for like-minded people and a place that matches your vision.

Are you working on anything interesting right now?

Pakistanis love their tea. They have tea for breakfast, tea in the afternoon and then in the evening. There’s tea with snacks and tea over gossip sessions. In a shocking revelation, we learnt that 80% of child burns happen due to hot tea spills. Now in a country where tea consumption is at an all-time high, there is considerable talk around removing tea stains from clothes but none around the perils of being negligent while preparing or drinking that tea. After a successful first leg of the campaign where we were able to bring down the number of accidents by 50%, we’re now working on Round 2 this year!  

You attended AD STARS in 2018. Do you have any favourite memories of Busan?

My fondest memory of Busan is going to The Library of Mystery Literature, a quaint little place which is a library, a cafe and a museum all rolled into one.  Due to an ongoing book-club, they were closed at the time I wanted to visit. I called up the owner, and with my receptionist translating everything for me, told her it was the only day I could come visit and she generously opened up the cafe especially for me. There I met the famous crime novelist Kim Seong-jong, read a crime novel with a cup of buckwheat tea offset against a book-reading in a foreign language… it was really something else.

Hira Mohibullah will judge the Brand Experience & Activation, Creative eCommerce, Direct, Media and PR categories at the AD STARS 2020 Awards. To enter, submit your work before 15th May via adstars.org.

[khalilhumam]

Women and Girls Are Leading the Way towards Universal Access to Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare: Will the Global Community Follow?

Register at https://mignation.com The Only Social Network for Migrants. #Immigration, #Migration, #Mignation ---

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Women and Girls Are Leading the Way towards Universal Access to Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare: Will the Global Community Follow?

Governments around the world continue to focus on tackling the COVID-19 outbreak head-on and preventing already-stretched health systems from being even more overwhelmed. But as the pandemic accelerates, governments must also balance COVID-19 responses with wider health needs. Sexual and reproductive health and rights are especially at risk for women and girls, who are disproportionately affected by the crisis in a myriad of ways, including school closures, increased unpaid care duties, and gender-based violence. COVID-19 has presented new challenges for sexual and reproductive healthcare, while also amplifying longstanding barriers. In early June, CGD hosted an online panel to discuss how policymakers, development partners, and the private sector can sustain and expand sexual and reproductive health and rights through the pandemic and beyond. Here are four key takeaways:

1. Keep sight of COVID-19’s disruptions on sexual and reproductive health gains

As we know from previous outbreaks, knock-on effects of the pandemic could cause just as much, if not more, illness and death than the disease itself. Based on rapid surveys in the Global Financing Facility’s (GFF) 36 partner countries, Monique Vledder, Practice Manager of the GFF, stressed that COVID-19 is already triggering a secondary health crisis through widespread disruptions to RMNCAH care. These indirect health impacts are driven by interruptions to the supply of services, including health facility capacity, redeployment of health workers, and supply chain constraints, alongside demand-side challenges, including transport restrictions, lack of information about service availability, and reduced household income. Salma Anas-Kolo, Director of the Department of Family Health at the Nigerian Federal Ministry of Health, shared that many women and families in Nigeria are not aware that sexual and reproductive health services are still available. Further, some healthcare workers in Nigeria have been diverted to contribute to the COVID-19 response, while others are hesitant to deliver services, especially given PPE shortages. While global supply chains for many essential health products have been strained by the current crisis, Prashant Yadav, Senior Fellow at CGD, explained that sexual and reproductive health products are particularly at risk. For example, the global procurement architecture of sexual and reproductive health products is more fragmented than the existing apparatuses for some other health areas, such as HIV, TB, and malaria. Ongoing efforts by UNFPA and the Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition (RHSC), including the Global Family Planning Visibility and Analytics Network, have been critical in the face of COVID-19. But these mainly focus on contraceptive supplies; gaps persist for other sexual and reproductive health products, such as medical abortion (MA). Further, potential quality issues could lead to adverse health outcomes and, in turn, erode hard-won gains in patient trust and confidence in products like MA—derailing progress far beyond the current crisis.  Stories from the frontline of COVID-19-related disruptions to sexual and reproductive health demand, access, and supply abound, but a fuller picture of their magnitude remains to be seen in the data. Emerging evidence from RHSC and Nivi alongside findings from previous crises tell a cautionary tale. Some data currently suggests there may be a short-term buffer of supplies, but Yadav cautioned that this could be due to a time-lag effect given the scale of global supply chain issues. To better target and implement health supply chain mitigation measures amidst COVID-19, CGD colleagues are working with IQVIA, Maisha Meds and other data platforms to develop an early alert system for country-level shortages of non-COVID health products, including sexual and reproductive health—stay tuned for more from CGD in this area.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87u_b7XHabA]

2. Double down on integrating health systems with the innovation ecosystem

As COVID-19 restricts the movement of people, providers, and products, the agility and creativity of the private sector has already helped to augment government health system capacity. From telepharmacies and direct-to-consumer delivery to self-care products, chatbots, and drones, growth capital for social enterprises is one way to harness the current entrepreneurial groundswell to address COVID-19, maintain the provision of essential health services, and cushion the economic blow. Mary-Ann Etiebet, Executive Director of Merck for Mothers and Board Member at CGD, shared that the private sector’s ability to rise to the occasion builds, in part, on existing innovative financing vehicles, such as the public-private $50 million MOMS Initiative to help companies like LifeBank scale. But Etiebet and Vledder cautioned that without intentionally integrating digital models and tools into the larger health system, these models could exacerbate existing inequities. Given that these innovations (and private providers generally) are seldom covered by public financing from governments and development partners, leveraging digital platforms will require careful consideration of how marginalized groups can realistically gain access to private options available to wealthier, more educated, and urban populations. Speakers highlighted the potential of blended funding flows from governments, development partners, and the private sector to better connect digital tools with national health systems. This pooling of resources could be channeled into health savings accounts and demand-side financing mechanisms like coupons and vouchers, for example. These new healthcare delivery and financing approaches are especially compelling because they build sexual and reproductive healthcare around the choices, preferences, and agency of women and girls. Etiebet emphasized that, even beyond the health system, collaboration across the finance, technology, pharmaceutical, and public health sectors can help ensure that new resources reach the last mile.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWHMCzDxmOE]

3. Boost local ideas for global impact

The new digital tools and delivery models described above depend on local innovators and social entrepreneurs who have a nuanced understanding of the unique challenges in their own communities. Vledder shared that the GFF has expanded its online knowledge and learning infrastructure to host an action-oriented community of practice through which countries discuss how to adapt and strengthen service delivery. While the collaborative platform facilitates bottom-up, country-driven solutions, it also gives the GFF more on-the-ground insights to better tailor financial and technical support. Speakers also pointed to examples of local production and manufacturing of health products, including PPE. Yadav explained that streamlining supply chains through local and regional production could help mitigate supply chain shortages for both PPE and sexual and reproductive health products. In Nigeria, the government is collaborating with the trade industry, manufacturing companies, and private distributors to build the country’s capacity to produce and deliver PPE, sanitizer, and other infection control products. The GFF, in partnership with the IFC, is supporting local companies in Africa to expand their manufacturing capabilities. Further, as my colleagues have previously argued, DFIs can support health service continuity amidst the pandemic by financing the production scale-up of PPE and sanitation supplies, among other win-win equitable investments.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucb8C7pNny0]x

4. Forge a holistic, sector-wide path forward

Primary health care remains under-prioritized in many countries due to numerous political economy factors, despite being the delivery point at which many vulnerable groups access sexual and reproductive health services and other essential care. This is particularly relevant in the context of COVID-19; the existing prioritization of hospitals in many LMIC health budgets, combined with growing demands for resource-intensive tertiary care for COVID-19 treatment, may divert resources away from primary care. Vledder underscored the GFF’s focus on transformations in primary care delivery, and Anas-Kolo described the centrality of primary healthcare for Nigeria’s UHC agenda (although newly announced budget cuts may threaten essential services). Relatedly, speakers highlighted the importance of managing healthcare holistically. Calls for a system-wide approach in global health are not new, but the need to create sustainable health systems with more and better domestic spending resonates now more than ever. High levels of dependence on donor funding for contraceptives, as noted by Vledder, coupled with unpredictable political environments in donor countries and growing uncertainties around the future of development assistance put sexual and reproductive healthcare at risk. The challenges of COVID-19 amplify the importance of integration across health programs and between sectors. In the words of Etiebet, “We’re not trying to solve for diseases; we’re trying to solve for people, for health, and for life.”

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlNc6nCO5R8]

Despite the unprecedented challenges the global community is facing, the best way forward seems clear: Let women and girls lead the way towards universal access to high-quality, affordable sexual and reproductive healthcare, and follow them with flexible and innovative financing as part of a coherent health system aligned with how they approach their own wellbeing. In case you missed it, you can watch the full recap of the event here and check out live Twitter highlights here.