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Women You Should Know: Josephine Elechi

Jeremiah Aluwong
  Elechi was born in Ezza Ofu Village in Ezza Inyimagu Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State in 1948. Elechi attended Covenant Primary School in Afikpo from 1954–1961. She then moved to Holy Child Secondary School in Sharon from 1962–1966. Elechi took a break from school to work at Nigeria Construction and Furniture Company from 1973–1975. Finally, she attended Enugu State University of Technology (ESUT) from 1993-2000 earning a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree. After obtaining her degree, she continued to work until her marriage to Martin Elechi.
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Political career When her husband, Martin Elechi became governor on May 29, 2007, she became more involved in political life, becoming the Chair of the Ebonyi State Women Development Commission (WDC) in 2007, and Chair of the Mother and Child Care Initiative (MCCI), also in 2007. Prior to that time as the first lady, she has served on the Ebonyi State Committee on Tsunami Disaster from 2004. The Mother and Child Care Initiative (MCCI) The Mother and Child Care Initiative (MCCI) used public and private partner sponsorship to address issues for the benefit of Ebonyi women and children. The Mother and Child Care Initiative had the following thematic areas as the focal points of MCCI Program: The overall goal of the Mother and Child Care Initiative was to promote the survival of Ebonyi women and children. The action commenced in August 2007 with the drafting of a “road map”. The work plan for 2008-2009 was synthesized out of this document.
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Many activities have been carried out since 2008 in the areas of promotion of maternal mortality, cancer and gender-based violence including: In order to broaden the scope and impact of the Mother and Child Care Initiative to other communities, Elechi hosted a one-day Inaugural Forum of Wives of Governors of South-East States and Benue State in collaboration with UNICEF to form an alliance for a shared vision on issues of women and children in the focal areas. Elechi: Championing Causes Elechi “championed advocacy on the passage of the Mother and child care initiative (MCCI) and related matters law” as reported in March 2010. Mrs. Elechi was also the lead speaker in a conference session on June 9, 2010, titled, “Innovations in Fistula Prevention, Treatment, and Reintegration.” In her presentation, she described efforts to combat vesicovaginal fistula (VVF) in Ebonyi State through a combination of legislation, enlightenment, prevention and treatment.
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Elechi also gave a presentation at the international Women Deliver conference in Washington DC on June 7–9, 2010. The theme of the conference was Delivering Solutions for Girls and Women. The conference was organized by Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization bringing together voices from around the world to call for action against maternal death. Sponsorship and support for the conference were provided by a host of governmental and non-governmental organizations, including The World Bank, WHO, UNICEF, USAID, UNFPA, UNAIDS, The European Union, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and many others.  Conference attendees included First Ladies from various countries, representatives of various countries and NGOs, and medical experts in the field of obstetric and fistula care. Reference  mybiohub.com Wikipedia Featured Image Source: Orijo Reporter
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