Alaa Murabit—director of global policy, advocacy, and communications for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—spoke about starting her medical career in a conflict zone and how she is inspired by frontline health workers in Gaza, Ukraine, Yemen, and Sudan.
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00:00Well, first, thank you so much, Time, for this incredible honor.
00:05And to all of my fellow honorees, to my colleagues, to friends in the room, it's very rare, frankly,
00:12I have 10 brothers and sisters, so I walk through life with a pretty thick skin and
00:16very rarely feel intimidated.
00:18And in this room, I feel intimidated and humbled and grateful, so thank you all for all the
00:23tireless work you do to advance care and dignity and opportunity for so many people around
00:28the world.
00:30Now, when I was asked to give this toast, I started thinking about what gives me energy
00:34and inspires me.
00:37And I started my own medical career in conflict, in a conflict zone.
00:43And I am immensely grateful in a very bittersweet way and inspired by the courage and dedication
00:50of health workers in conflict zones, be it Gaza, Yemen, Sudan, Ukraine, and too many
00:56others around the world.
00:58Now, in the past year alone, political violence has increased 27%.
01:04Climate insecurity means that everything from infectious disease to chronic fragility to
01:08health system fragmentation gets worse.
01:12And hospitals, which are meant to be places of healing and places of hope, I always say
01:17that a hospital was more spiritual to me than any mosque, church, or synagogue because you
01:21hear more prayers in it, become at best overburdened and at worst attacked.
01:27And it will come as no surprise to many of you that in those moments of crisis and insecurity,
01:33it is women and children who are the most vulnerable.
01:38Violence exacerbates infectious disease.
01:41It exacerbates malnutrition and maternal and child death.
01:46In Gaza alone in the past six months, conservative estimates are that 35,000 people have been
01:52killed.
01:53Of them, 70% are women and children.
01:57Now, what we don't talk about often enough, though, is what I am toasting to tonight,
02:02and that is courage and leadership.
02:05Because while women are beneficiaries of healthcare systems, they are also actually the foundation
02:12of them.
02:13Women are 70% of healthcare workers around the world.
02:18They are on the front lines of delivering care in the worst of circumstances.
02:22Now, I know that for many of us, we've been talking about everything from menopause to
02:29hypermesis to COVID, and if you can imagine how much worse those are when there are bombs
02:34and bullets overhead.
02:38And so we can give lip service to women's inclusion and women's agency, but it's only
02:42when we actively invest in their leadership, and not just their leadership in healthcare,
02:47because as you heard today, you need to get policy makers.
02:50You need to get industry.
02:51You need to get investment in research, which means we need women's leadership in every
02:58sector and at every level.
03:07My dad always says being a physician is a peacemaker, and part of me thinks he said
03:12that just so I went into medical school, but that's another conversation.
03:16Any kids of immigrants, please feel free to see me.
03:20But I actually don't think anything embodies courage and leadership more than those who
03:26are on the front lines, in conflict zones around the world, than the very women and
03:31children who are at risk, and the women who continue, despite the enormous toll on their
03:36mental health and the enormous personal risk, to provide care and dignity and opportunity
03:42for their communities.
03:43And so tonight, I toast the courage of those who not only have to live through those moments,
03:49but who carry their communities through those moments selflessly.
03:52Thank you.
03:53Thank you.
03:54Thank you.
03:55Thank you.