KAMPALA – Pathfinder International Chief Executive Ms. Lois Quam has held the global launch of her latest publication in Uganda at the prestigious Serena Hotel Kigo in Uganda.
Titled ‘Who Runs the World?’, the book whose groundbreaking launch was graced by Ms. Lydia Saloucou Zoungrane the Pathfinder Africa President, and other leaders from the continent presents profound personal reflections and a visionary outlook on empowering women worldwide as catalysts for progress in the 21st century.
‘Who Runs the World?’ amplifies the voices and narratives of women from Africa and all over the world showcasing their indispensable role in driving transformative change.
“I’m delighted to do the global launch of my new book Who Runs the World: Unlocking the Talent and Inventiveness of the World’s Women in Uganda. Uganda is such an important country in the world, a place of talent and innovation,” said Ms. Quam, adding “The cover of my book represents that. It is a painting by a Ugandan painter, Edison Magalu”.
Ms. Quam said that the world needs more women innovators to deal with the many challenges.
“We have a lot of challenges in the world. And there’s a saying that says necessity is the mother of invention. And if that’s the case, we certainly need more mothers and more women and girls to be able to be inventors. And that’s the message of this book,” Quam also the former FORTUNE 50 executive told reporters.
She said that the book’s inspiration comes from the work that Pathfinder does in Uganda and around Africa and that the book is about supporting women and girls.
One key part of that support is good access to maternal healthcare and reproductive health care,” she said, congratulating Uganda for the robust reproductive health policies.
“There’s still work to do, especially to make sure that young girls teenage girls can finish school or grow up before they have their first child, that they can wait to have the right timing for that child,” Quam said, committing to supporting Ugandan authorities to bolster these efforts.
“I hope readers will recognize that women and girls around them need support, and with that support are the answers to our challenges. With the talent and energy of women, we can solve all the world’s problems, if we support women and girls to do so,” she remarked.
Ms. Lydia Saloucou Zoungrane the Pathfinder Africa President said Who Runs the World? Is a guiding tool for creating a world where everyone is free to make informed decisions about their lives.
Ritah Nakigudde Waddimba, Pathfinder Country Director said Ms. Quam’s book is manual for everyone who wants to be a solution by improving the welfare of women and girls in Uganda and globally.
“We have provided an opportunity for women and girls to access services that they would otherwise not be able to access. We have taught women and girls the importance of spacing their pregnancies, and these go beyond just that one woman. Still, they also benefit the woman’s family, community, and the nation,” said Waddimba.
Pathfinder Uganda has been operating since the 1950s covering more than 25 districts in all regions of the country with a strong focus on sexual and reproductive health and rights, maternal, neonatal, and child health, youth integration, gender inclusion, environmental safety & climate resilience, as well as HIV&AIDS care.
Who Runs the World?
In Who Runs the World?, Pathfinder CEO, former FORTUNE 50 executive, and U.S. State Department official Lois Quam offers personal reflections and a global perspective to demonstrate that unlocking the talent of the world’s women – half of all humanity – is the key for global progress in the 21st century. Quam recognizes that reproductive health care – and the ability to make these personal decisions – is central to women’s ability to reach their full potential in life.
This book presents the voices of Pathfinder leaders from Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, showcasing efforts to support and advance women as we confront climate change, fragile health systems, and inequality.
In these pages, you’ll discover the effective global work to unlock women’s talent and inventiveness with reproductive health equity. Who Runs the World? is a call to action for everyone who has experienced for themselves what it means to choose whether and when to have children – and to do so safely.
Who is Lois Quam
Named three times to FORTUNE’s list of the most influential women leaders in business, Lois Quam, Pathfinder’s CEO since 2017, is a senior leader in the corporate, government, and civil society sectors. At Pathfinder, Lois and her colleagues provide global leadership demonstrating the vital role women play, when supported, in addressing the central challenges of our day.
Deeply committed to putting power and decisions closer to those who experience their impact, Lois relinquished her role as Pathfinder’s President to form a leadership group with two other women – President Lydia Saloucou Zoungrana in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, and President Tabinda Sarosh in Karachi, Pakistan.
Before joining Pathfinder, Lois served at the U.S. State Department as leader of President Barack Obama’s Global Health Initiative with annual U.S. investment of over $8 billion addressing the biggest health challenges facing millions of people across over eighty countries. In the corporate sector, she was the founding CEO of a division of UnitedHealth Group, providing services to older Americans and low-income families across the United States through the Medicare and Medicaid programs and in partnership with AARP. A Rhodes Scholar from Minnesota, Quam has degrees from Oxford University and Macalester College.
