President Anthea Announces New Federation-Wide Health Campaign: Her Health – Our Wealth
Soroptimist International South East Asia Pacific (SISEAP) President Anthea Penny has announced a new Federation-wide health campaign, Her Health – Our Wealth, launching in September 2026.
The campaign brings Soroptimists across South East Asia and the Pacific together around a shared commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of women and girls. Through awareness, prevention, support, advocacy and community-led action, the campaign aims to address some of the significant and uneven health challenges experienced by women and girls throughout the SISEAP region.
With the message “Women’s Health Matters,” Her Health – Our Wealth recognises that better health outcomes for women contribute to stronger families, stronger communities and a stronger future.
The campaign will focus on improving access to timely, affordable and culturally appropriate health services, strengthening prevention and early intervention, supporting women and girls experiencing gender-based violence, building community resilience and increasing women's health literacy, leadership and influence in health policy.
Key Health Issues for Women and Girls
The campaign recognises five key areas of health affecting women and girls across the SISEAP region:
What Are We Trying to Achieve?
Through Her Health – Our Wealth, SISEAP aims to:
- Increase access to timely, affordable and culturally appropriate health services for women and girls.
- Prevent disease by increasing coverage of priority preventive services, including sexual and reproductive health services, HPV vaccination and non-communicable disease screening.
- Reduce the incidence of gender-based violence and harmful practices while improving responses and support.
- Strengthen community capacity to maintain essential services during emergencies and climate-related shocks.
- Advocate for increased women's health literacy, leadership and influence in health policy.
The Federation-wide approach will allow National Associations and Regions to identify and respond to the health priorities most relevant to their own communities, while contributing to a shared SISEAP vision.
For example, different areas may choose to focus on specific priorities such as endometriosis in NSW, ovarian cancer in New Zealand, oral cancer in Papua New Guinea, or mental health in Malaysia.
This local adaptability is an important part of the campaign, ensuring that Soroptimists can respond to the needs of their communities while sharing knowledge, resources and impact across the Federation.
Working Together for Impact
Her Health – Our Wealth will be supported through a coordinated Federation-wide structure.
The Federation President and President Elect will act as Campaign Sponsors. Campaign coordination and oversight will occur through the Management Committee, Programme Committees and National Presidents, while day-to-day activities will be undertaken by National Associations and Australian Regions.
The Finance Committee will review seed-grant rules and disbursements.
National Associations and Regions participating in the campaign will establish a project group with a Convenor, register planned activities through the campaign database and submit short quarterly reports outlining key numbers and one project story. Projects receiving campaign funding will also be required to meet milestone reporting and basic audit requirements.
The campaign encourages National Associations and Regions to develop partnerships with ministries, schools, women's groups and local NGOs to strengthen the reach and impact of their work.
A simple data collection process through the SISEAP Programme Database will help capture the collective impact of projects across the Federation.
SISEAP will also work to provide information toolkits, resources and other campaign materials, with sponsorship opportunities being explored to expand the resources available to clubs and members.
By bringing together the knowledge, experience and commitment of Soroptimists across the region, the campaign aims to make women's health a stronger focus within our communities and create opportunities for meaningful, sustainable change.
Launching September 2026
Her Health – Our Wealth will officially launch in September 2026, providing Soroptimists across the SISEAP Federation with an opportunity to take action on women's health in ways that reflect the needs of their local communities.
From raising awareness and supporting prevention to building partnerships, advocating for change and strengthening community resilience, every action can contribute to a healthier future.
