ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) mission in Islamabad has named Pakistani midwife Neha Mankani as its 2023 “Woman of Courage,” the US embassy said on Monday, as it commemorated women’s history month of March at an event in Islamabad.

The Woman of Courage award by the US mission in Pakistan is one of a wide range of efforts by the United States to support women and girls in Pakistan across sectors ranging from education to health to economic empowerment.

Mankani, an alumna of the US-funded Fulbright Program, established the Mama Baby Fund in 2019 to support new mothers who could not afford prenatal and postnatal care. She has since worked extensively in the field

“Neha exemplifies leadership, courage, and strength, and we’re so pleased to see one of our Fulbright Program alumna making such a strong contribution to her country,” the US embassy quoted its Deputy Mission Chief Andrew Schofer as saying in a statement.

Mankani and her team traveled to camps of internally displaced persons to provide prenatal care and kits to help ensure safe deliveries in Sindh, which was one of the Pakistani regions that were worst affected by last year’s disastrous floods.

She said her fund’s emergency response and community-based programs were aimed at providing care for pregnant women and newborns in vulnerable communities.

“In all of the climate-affected communities I have worked in – from the coastal islands of Karachi to displaced flood-affected communities in Sindh and Balochistan – it is very clear that climate change and complex emergencies affect women and children very differently,” Mankani said.

“Imagine all of the vulnerabilities of being pregnant, in labor, or postpartum, having a newborn, and add to that displacement, a struggling health system, food insecurity and being away from your community. The Mama Baby Fund emergency response and our community-based programs are centered around these gaps.” 

She also thanked the US embassy for its support to flood-affected communities and continuing to raise awareness of the post-flood humanitarian needs.