Adrienne Germain (1947 – May 19, 2022) was a women's health advocate and activist. She was the second president of the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC). Germain was also a researcher and author.

Biography

Germain earned a bachelor's degree from Wellesley College in 1969 and had a master's degree in sociology and demography from the University of California, Berkeley.[1] Germain was the first woman to act as a representative of "any donor agency" in Bangladesh.[2] Germain worked for the Ford Foundation for 14 years before she started working at the International Women's Health Coalition (IWHC).[1] She was appointed vice president of IWHC in 1985.[3] Germain worked as a strategist and adviser to the United States delegation at the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo.[2] Germain feels that it is essential for women's rights that women have the freedom to control their own bodies and full access to educational opportunities.[4] She says, "If they are forced to have sex, denied information and protection about sexual diseases, it limits how they can be and act in the world."[4]

Germain received the United Nations Population Award in June 2012 in recognition of her work in the field.[1][5]

Germain died by suicide on May 19, 2022.

Selected works

References

  1. ^ a b c "Adrienne Germain". SheSource. Women's Media Center. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b Shetty, Priya (5 March 2011). "Adrienne Germain: helping to shape policy for women's health". The Lancet. 377 (9768): 803. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60294-8. PMID 21377559. S2CID 38084022.
  3. ^ "History". International Women's Health Coalition. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
  4. ^ a b Goodman, Ellen (22 March 2002). "Policies Toward Women Ring Hollow". Garden City Telegram. Retrieved 29 March 2016 – via Newspaper Archive.
  5. ^ "UN Population Award 2012". Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Malaysia. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2016.