African women’s health initiatives
As part of our commitment to assist vulnerable segments of our community, ACANA is committed to providing vital health and wellness information for African and Caribbean women thorough various programs.
ACANA Healthy African Woman Workshop Series
Monthly interactive workshop series where women gather to learn about various women’s centered health topics from trained peer leaders and medical professionals. The workshop series also provides access to free or low cost health services for Philadelphia residents and other incentives. Past sponsors of this series include Women’s Way and the First Hospital Grant Foundation.
Female Genital Cutting/Mutilation Projectt
ACANA provides culturally sensitive education, information on FGC and also trains medical professionals on how to work with women who have experienced FGC.
Introducing Project “BAOBAB”
The ACANA “Project BAOBAB” is a 3- year federally funded Women Health Initiative project currently been implemented in collaboration with African Diaspora Health Initiative (ADHI). The program is administered through the Office of Women’s Health (OWH).
Project BAOBAB aims to enhance wellness among women and girls who have undergone or are at risk for Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), and to better characterize the extent of and attitudes toward FGM/C in the populations among whom the practice of FGM/C occurs.
This Project proposes to achieve the following:
Health Education
Provide community-based, culturally and linguistically appropriate peer-led holistic health education services on the physical, sexual, reproductive, psychological and economic consequences of FGM/C to at least 150 refugee and new immigrant women resettled from sub-Saharan Africa and residing in Philadelphia.
Training and Education
Provide training and education for health care providers serving the project community to respond in a culturally competent and caring manner to those women who have experienced FGM/C and are utilizing their services for health issues related to FGM/C.
Healthcare for Women and Girls
Link to social, legal, and health care services women and girls who have undergone or are at risk for FGM/C.
Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C)
FGM which is sometimes called mutilation or circumcision includes all procedures involving partial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury, to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons. This practice is a fundamental human rights issue with adverse health and social implications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC), Philadelphia ranks in the top 10 among other major U. S. cities with about 16,500 females mostly from Sub Saharan Africa potentially at risk for FGM/C. Available estimates In the United States, suggest that more than 513,000 girls and women have experienced FGC or are at risk of FGC. The World health Organization (WHO) states that more than 200 million girls and women alive today have been cut in 30 countries in Africa, the Middle East and Asia where FGC is concentrated.
Survey participants will be seen at ACANA offices on Mondays to Thursdays 10:00 am -6:00 pm. Participants will also be identified in the communities and provided with information, referrals and resources. ACANA nurse will hold a clinic twice a week at ACANA offices on Mondays and Tuesdays and make referrals to African Diaspora Health Initiative (ADHI). Health education workshops highlighting FGC will be held once a month at ACANA offices and in the community.
For more information on this, please contact our Women’s Health Department
- 5530 Chester Avenue, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19143
- 215-729-8225 ext. 112
- nettiejohnson@acanaus.org
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