Nawal Nour

What is the significance of the object you brought with you to the photo shoot?
This Maasai statue of a mother kissing her child demonstrates the genuine love and well being that I see in my patients at the African Women's Health Center. Maternal health in parts of Africa is dire. Every minute a woman dies during labor and more than 125 million women and girls have undergone female genital cutting. Although the AWHC is making efforts to reduce maternal mortality and end female genital cutting, the road ahead is long. However, because I work with remarkable colleagues and mentors at Harvard Medical School, I am continuously motivated by them.
Through partnerships and collaborations, the HMS community has inspired me to think creatively and find alternative solutions to these problems. At the AWHC, we provide culturally and linguistically competent care to underserved women. By offering a safe haven for them, we enable them to question some of their cultural beliefs and help them reach healthy decisions.
As I travel nationally and internationally, my roles as an obstetrician-gynecologist, public health provider, educator, mentor, student, woman and mother continuously mix and merge. I have witnessed true social and medical change toward the progress of women and children's health. Those moments make our efforts completely worthwhile.