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    Exclusive: A global north-south battle over a maternal health alliance

    “We are still alive. We have not died. And we are still moving, still working,” says Angela Nguku, who leads White Ribbon Alliance Kenya. “So why [is the secretariat] taking away what belongs to us?”

    By Elissa Miolene // 15 August 2024
    Angela Nguku said she was in New York — a three-hour train ride from Washington, D.C. — when she first heard of a high-profile event being held by the secretariat of the White Ribbon Alliance, an advocacy organization focused on maternal health care. White Ribbon is an alliance of alliances, with each entity operating both autonomously and in tandem. But earlier this year, many gathered in the American capital to mark a shift: The organization’s U.S.-based secretariat — which shared lessons, opportunities, and resources across the network — was closing. It was a move designed to make space for new leaders, voices, and ideas, the secretariat said. “The women we serve deserve the deployment of all our efforts: equitably, in solidarity, with integrity, leaving no one behind,” Sandra Pepera, the board chair of White Ribbon Alliance, said at the March 14 event. But Nguku — who has led White Ribbon’s alliance in Kenya for the last eight years — said she was not invited to attend. “We came together and said we want to move forward. So why [is the secretariat] taking away what belongs to us?” --— Angela Nguku, founder and executive director, White Ribbon Alliance Kenya “Four or five people said to me: I’m going to your event,” Nguku told Devex. “And I was like: Which event are you talking about?” This wasn’t the first sign of tension between the White Ribbon secretariat and its national alliances. For months, a fissure had been widening at the organization’s center — and with every step the secretariat took toward closing, those cracks only seemed to deepen. At the core of the debate are two battles: One on motives, and another on ownership. The secretariat said they were shuttering to shift power to local players; Nguku and others said the secretariat was closing due to financial hardship. The secretariat said they would be releasing their tools, documents, and data to the world; many national chapters wanted those resources to revert to them. And today, there are two separate platforms representing White Ribbon’s global movement — one created by the secretariat, and another run by nine of the organization’s original national chapters and two newly formed ones. “We are still alive. We have not died. And we are still moving, still working,” Nguku said. “We came together and said we want to move forward. So why [is the secretariat] taking away what belongs to us?” In many ways, the back-and-forth — which has been eating away at the more than 20-year-old organization for over a year — is unique, as White Ribbon’s unusual structure lends itself to many leaders and many directions. But in other ways, the divisions are far from isolated. They represent a power struggle between a membership body and its members, and the bitterness that can arise when an organization asks itself who really holds the reins. An alliance of alliances The White Ribbon Alliance was formed in 1999. It began as an informal coalition of organizations dedicated to improving maternal health, but as the movement grew, additional governance structures were established at both the national and global levels. Shortly afterward, a U.S.-based secretariat took on global advocacy, information-sharing, and coordinating roles on behalf of the network. Its national alliances — independently networks of individuals, organizations, and others affiliated with White Ribbon — continued their own advocacy efforts. They operated to improve maternal and reproductive health on their national and regional levels, while also receiving funding and coordination support, in varying degrees, from the U.S.-based secretariat. For years, the secretariat’s annual reports showcased the work of its 14 member alliances. In 2016, that included White Ribbon Alliance Uganda’s “Act Now to End Teenage Pregnancy” campaign, which collected more than 120,000 signatures on a petition urging the prime minister to do more to reduce the country’s teenage pregnancy rate. In 2018, a spotlight was on White Ribbon Alliance Nepal, whose advocacy efforts led to the country’s House of Representatives passing a groundbreaking law to protect the health and rights of women and girls. The successes of the secretariat were also showcased, many of which focused on influencing institutions such as the United Nations or the World Health Organization. In 2022, White Ribbon took over another advocacy organization, Women’s March Global, folding even more groups into the mix. Though many in country-level alliances — like Nguku — continued to operate as they always had, they were no longer the only focus. Instead, something more decentralized began to emerge in the organization’s messaging, pointing to a movement with the involvement of many chapters, entities, and groups. But at the same time, murmurs of a transition process had already begun — and the same year White Ribbon merged with Women’s March Global, different options to transform the organization were brought to the organization’s leadership table, including the formation of a new organization entirely. Eventually, the secretariat cemented their decision: By the end of 2024, the D.C.-based entity would sunset. In a statement on the White Ribbon website, the secretariat said it was transitioning to support the “next generation” of organizers — and as the secretariat shut its doors, it was also releasing its data, tools, and resources to the public as “global goods” under a platform called the World We Want, allowing anyone, anywhere, to access them online. “We believe our greatest contribution to this movement is not sustaining ourselves as an organization but availing our resources in service of sustained organizing,” the secretariat said in its statement. “Everyone still has the same opportunity to leverage, share, copy, and remix the valuable World We Want toolbox to advance their ambitions and most importantly those of women and girls.” But according to Nguku and Aparajita Gogoi, who heads White Ribbon Alliance India, the reality was much different. The two questioned why the secretariat was closing, and refuted it was due to a shift in power; that its leaders were trying to set up another organization to continue its work; and that the secretariat was refusing to give local alliances exclusive rights to resources that they had created. Far from the statement on the secretariat’s website, the alliances had already claimed their power, Nguku and Gogoi said — and the U.S.-based team’s closure had nothing to do with shifting it. When talk of a reorganization began, nine of White Ribbon’s national alliances formed the Global White Ribbon Alliance Leadership Team, or GAL, to carry the movement forward, with Nguku and Gogoi at the head. “We are the people who know the specific problems of our own communities — and who know the solutions,” representatives from those nine alliances wrote in a statement, which they titled the Nairobi Declaration, this past February. “We have now achieved our long-held aspiration to take back our power by being regionally led.” The White Ribbon alliances in Tanzania and Pakistan seem to have aligned themselves with the secretariat by participating in its new platform, and the head of White Ribbon Pakistan is on the secretariat’s board. The last alliance — Zimbabwe — appears to have no active affiliation with either group, though GAL said they were in touch with the network. And the alliances in Afghanistan and Yemen seem to be inactive due to crises in those countries, meaning that the members of GAL now make up 75% of the organization’s national chapters. Since the GAL formed, two new alliances have joined their ranks: South Sudan and Sierra Leone. “What we were asking for was not money — new, old, or existing,” Gogoi told Devex. “We just said that if you're transitioning out, then there are 11 alliances, at this point, who are front and center. You are just creating a vacuum, and we need to step in and fill that vacuum.” The question of finances So, why did the secretariat choose to close? GAL puts the focus on a sky-high lease on an office building in Washington, D.C. The secretariat had signed onto the agreement just before the COVID-19 pandemic, and according to the organization’s 2021 financial statements, the 12-year lease cost $25,386 per month. It was also subject to a 2.5% annual escalation. By 2027, the organization could have utilized a “one-time right” to terminate the lease, though doing so would trigger an immediate fee of $486,045. It’s not obvious how burdensome the lease really was, and what money was available to pay it. The secretariat’s most recent financial documents are from 2022, and state that the entity had a net income of $1.1 million after receiving $4.4 million in revenue and spending $3.3 million on expenses. However, according to those financial statements, the vast majority of White Ribbon’s funds were earmarked, a donor categorization that typically restricts organizations from spending on operating expenses. By the end of 2022, White Ribbon had $325,391 in assets without donor restrictions, the financial documents state. At the same time, annual compensation costs for the secretariat’s four staff members listed on the document came out to $531,780 that year. It’s unclear whether any portion of those salaries — or the lease payments — could be covered by restricted donor funding. Multiple individuals close to the matter told Devex the organization was struggling with the lease’s financial weight, but despite that, the secretariat said finances were not the main reason for the entity’s closure. “The decision to sunset WRA Global, a US 501-c3, was driven primarily by our desire to respond to changing times and needs in the sector and our societies,” the secretariat said in an emailed statement to Devex. “To make space for new people, new ideas, and new ways of doing things, including elevating the grassroots and driving funding in their direction.” The question of the future Still, it’s not clear that shutting down and sharing power was really the first choice. Earlier in 2023, the secretariat internally circulated a document which, though never published, was obtained by Devex more than a year later. The document spelled out a three-year vision, one that would turn Women’s March Global and White Ribbon Alliance into an organization called What Women Want. It held the same name as a campaign that first began with White Ribbon Alliance India, one that ultimately spread to national alliances across the globe. The new organization’s goal was to canvas over 10 million women in 100 countries, grow a budget to $12 million-$15 million, and spark more than 500 policies that “promote equality, justice and human and planet health” by 2025. The entity would also create an “ASKforce,” a collection of grassroots organizations, activists, researchers, and others to serve as What Women Want’s “central listeners in focus communities.” “As we become What Women Want to better respond to the evolving and intertwined needs of women, we remain committed to the issues and ideas that sparked the original White Ribbon Alliance and Women’s March Global movements,” stated the project’s 2023-25 strategy. “Legacy WRA national alliances and WMG chapters will retain their focus and branding, while also participating in the ASKforce and related campaigns and initiatives. What Women Want will continue to serve as the fiscal host for both coalitions, while rotating the center of gravity for coordinating, connecting, and convening these select sub-groups among legacy members.” The transformation into What Women Want was rejected after some internal conflict, GAL representatives said, pointing to the fact that four board members resigned around the same time. Eventually, the secretariat decided on the World We Want project of today, with a strategy document that looks and feels quite similar to the earlier proposal. The World We Want project is now a platform hosting a data exchange, a directory of partners, and, again, an “askforce” of practitioners that organizations can draw on for support in their work — but without the secretariat playing a lead role in the process. “White Ribbon Alliance and Women’s March Global didn’t begin with us, nor do they end with us,” the World We Want strategy states. “Movements will always ebb and flow, but the ones that continue until their cause is no more, are owned by no one and everyone.” But for GAL, the World We Want platform still raised questions. Was this still the secretariat opening up a new organization under a new name? The secretariat declined to answer either question explicitly. Instead it said the organization considered many different strategies, structures, and options before ultimately deciding to shutter. “Upon deciding to sunset, we committed ourselves to closing as responsibly, equitably, and inclusively as possible, developing and carrying out a transition plan that not only honors the consultations and our movement principles, but helps to cement asking women, girls, and gender diverse people what they want as standard operating procedure in development policies and programs,” the secretariat said in their emailed statement. The World We Want platform is now hosted by the Forum for Women’s Development and Research, which is affiliated with White Ribbon Alliance Pakistan — a non-GAL national alliance — and the Comotion Social Change Agency, a joint entity composed of a communications agency, Global Office Consulting, and a network group, WomeninDev, according to the company’s website. The secretariat declined to respond to questions about why that company was chosen, and whether the group held a preexisting relationship with White Ribbon before this partnership. Despite that, the company does seem linked — in some way — to Women’s March Global: The commotion logo and name appeared on the former organization’s Instagram account until recently. The question of ownership Many of the resources, data, and toolkits created by all of White Ribbon’s partners are now available for public download on the World We Want website, stripped of the White Ribbon logo and branding. For the secretariat, doing so will ensure the “contacts, data, models, technologies, and tools remain accessible to all.” But for Nguku and Gogoi, the secretariat’s approach essentially means the alliances are losing ownership of a collection of common resources, many of which were built up over the years by White Ribbon members. They say they are missing the resources, campaign reports, case studies, photos, and video footage, which the national alliances said they produced in partnership with the global secretariat over the past two decades. “Why was this data transferred to another project, if we have our domains and the White Ribbon Alliance website? Why was it moved from one place to the other?” asked Nguku. “If the movement is still continuing, why was it transferred to another domain?” A representative of GAL stated they were “not aware of any board documents regarding ownership of the domain,” and that Gogoi, who used to sit on White Ribbon’s board, “was not part of any such discussion.” The secretariat denied confirming whether such plans were ever in place, though in an emailed statement, they note there were “many, many stakeholders who have continued to constructively engage and shape the transition plan with us, offering actionable recommendations such as the development of the World We Want website.” The ownership of these resources — including who created them, given the vast network of partners under the White Ribbon umbrella — is under dispute. The secretariat’s view appears to be that the resources were made by many hands, and should therefore be released for the common good. The World We Want strategy, for example, states the platform includes information “captured and compiled via [White Ribbon Alliance], [Women’s March Global], and other partners since 2018.” The many stakeholders the Women’s March merger brought into the organization appear to be an important factor in the secretariat’s decision-making. But Women’s March Global seems to have withered away after its merger with White Ribbon Alliance. It’s not clear how many chapters still exist, or which ones continue to be active under the White Ribbon umbrella. Divisions revealed The day after the secretariat officially announced its closure, Nguku and Gogoi sent an email to donors and others in the organization’s network, stating that a global leadership group — with them at the helm — was moving the alliance forward. The team was developing a new strategy to engage its members and listed the nine alliances that were already on board: Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. “We decided on and operationalised our new structure since April 2023 when the former secretariat in Washington, D.C., informed us of their decision to cease their administrative function,” GAL wrote in an email on July 13, 2023, which was later reviewed by Devex. “Our operational model is now in line with our long-standing aspiration to transfer leadership to regional and/or local hubs.” They posted the news on social media, publishing a newspaper-style photograph with the headline: Speaking truth to power … White Ribbon Alliance unveils dynamic global leadership transformation. A few days later, GAL asked the secretariat to shift White Ribbon’s website, resources, data, and membership list, among other products, to the group. The secretariat countered, saying they could not confirm GAL represented all the organization’s alliances, and that they did not have a “clear picture of how the new global majority-based hub will be formed, staffed, managed and fiscally responsible,” according to an email obtained by Devex. Both groups suggested setting up a time to discuss, but the conversation seems to have broken down over the following months. Without the White Ribbon platform, GAL created one of its own: whiteribbonalliance.global, as opposed to the existing whiteribbonalliance.org. They also launched a new handle on X, @WRA_Global, as opposed to the existing @WRAGlobal. “NEW channel for White Ribbon Alliance, the people-led global movement, founded in 1999, for the health and rights of women, newborns and girls. #owningourpower” reads GAL’s new bio on X. On their new website, the Nairobi Declaration is front-and-center, along with photographs of a nine-person team. “If you are looking to truly impact the lives of women, girls and newborns, partner with us. If you want to reach the last mile, work with us,” reads the last paragraph of the Declaration, as written on the new website. “We call on all our allies, friends and supporters to stand with us as we carry forward the torch of the White Ribbon Alliance into the future.” On the other side of the internet, the secretariat was continuing with its own plan. Recent social media posts on the entity’s channels show they had gathered members of the new “askforce” for the first time in early July, seeking input on their engagement with the World We Want project. According to the post, 46 “askforce members” attended the event, which focused on “facilitating meaningful connections and enabling us to articulate our collective vision for the World We Want movement.” “While not everyone may agree with our decision or approach to closing, everyone still has the same opportunity to leverage, share, copy, and remix the valuable World We Want toolbox to advance their ambitions and most importantly those of women and girls,” the secretariat said in a statement to Devex. “We believe that is organizing at its best and how lasting change is made.” End of the line When Devex first reported on White Ribbon Alliance’s closing in March, it seemed like a straightforward story. It was — finally — a power shift in action. But after a write-up of the sunsetting event was published, Devex was approached by members of GAL who shared a very different version of the same story. For months, Devex combed documents, spoke to experts, and interviewed those close to the organization to better understand where the breakdown at White Ribbon Alliance began — and how the trust between the secretariat and GAL became so deeply eroded. By the end of the year, the secretariat will close. The resources created by its partners will remain on the World We Want platform, and the project’s askforce has already kicked into gear. And GAL — along with the White Ribbon Alliance chapters in its 11 affiliated countries — will continue its work, too. “The fact that we’ve had this challenge also creates an opportunity for us to become stronger, learn from it, and see what we need to do better,” Dr. Nanna Bali Chidi-Emmanuel, the board chair of the GAL-affiliated White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria. “We can invent, and innovate and restructure.”

    Angela Nguku said she was in New York — a three-hour train ride from Washington, D.C. — when she first heard of a high-profile event being held by the secretariat of the White Ribbon Alliance, an advocacy organization focused on maternal health care.

    White Ribbon is an alliance of alliances, with each entity operating both autonomously and in tandem. But earlier this year, many gathered in the American capital to mark a shift: The organization’s U.S.-based secretariat — which shared lessons, opportunities, and resources across the network — was closing. It was a move designed to make space for new leaders, voices, and ideas, the secretariat said.

    “The women we serve deserve the deployment of all our efforts: equitably, in solidarity, with integrity, leaving no one behind,” Sandra Pepera, the board chair of White Ribbon Alliance, said at the March 14 event.

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    About the author

    • Elissa Miolene

      Elissa Miolene

      Elissa Miolene reports on USAID and the U.S. government at Devex. She previously covered education at The San Jose Mercury News, and has written for outlets like The Wall Street Journal, San Francisco Chronicle, Washingtonian magazine, among others. Before shifting to journalism, Elissa led communications for humanitarian agencies in the United States, East Africa, and South Asia.

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