Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA)

Women and Health Alliance International (WAHA) is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization based in France that has been launched by Her Highness Sheikha Shamsa bint Hamdan Al-Nahyan with the over-arching goal of addressing maternal and neonatal health in disadvantaged communities throughout the world. In October 2012, WAHA International was awarded the status of a “welfare and assistance” organization by the Ile-de-France Prefecture in recognition of its actions to improve maternal health in the world.

Her Highness has a longstanding commitment to women’s causes and believes that “no woman should die while bringing new life into the world or suffer needlessly for the rest of her life due to a lack of appropriate medical care”. She calls on the international community to unite to reduce the unacceptably high levels of maternal mortality in developing countries and appeals for greater efforts to improve women’s health.

WAHA strives to be an important international player in terms of implementing and funding a wide range of activities that promote women’s health in settings where the needs are greatest, and in advocating for greater action to be taken to reduce maternal deaths.

Focus areas:

• Increasing access to emergency obstetric care in order to reduce maternal death rates
• Preventing and increasing access to treatment for postpartum injuries including obstetric fistula
• Increasing the early diagnosis and early treatment of breast and cervical cancer