I am thrilled to be newly appointed in my role.
This is an exciting opportunity to bring together and lead a team
dedicated to ensuring equitable access to healthcare services for all particularly underserved and vulnerable populations.
This new role represents not just a personal milestone, but also
incredible opportunity to drive meaningful change within Sirona
beyond in how health inequalities are addressed.
Blending my personal and professional experience, I have a clear vision of how we can tackle inequalities. Together we can deliver Sirona’s vision to understand and remove barriers to accessing our services for underserved populations and groups in our area.
At the heart of our work lies the belief that everyone, regardless of their background, deserves equal access to healthcare, excellent experience and optimal outcome. I am committed to fostering an environment where diversity, equity, and inclusion are woven into every aspect of Sirona’s work – empowering each individual to thrive.
A little bit about myself and why I believe International Women’s Day is important.
I was born in Nairobi, Kenya in East Africa.
When I was growing up my grandmother strongly believed in educating girls. My father and his brothers had been to school, but my aunties hadn’t because women were meant to be homemakers, and men were supposed to go and provide. So, my grandmother knew you had to educate women and give equal opportunities to all. She always used to say to us that when you educate a woman, you educate a village. She was very passionate about education, she made sure each one of us went to school and she wanted us to experience the world. She was truly inspirational which led me to where I am today, here in Sirona.
I started my interest in helping refugees and migration when I was eight years old when a man who worked as a farm hand offered to help me with my maths homework. I found out he was a professor in a university in Uganda and had to flee and was working as a farm hand in my village. It was fantastic that he offered to help, and I was very curious because I didn’t event expect him to even know how to read or write. That is where my journey started with the interest in refugee and migration.
Following university, I felt a strong desire to make a meaningful impact in the healthcare, so I went into nursing. I also used to volunteer with the Red Cross and help women because at the time, where I am from, significant gender disparities existed, and women weren’t receiving equal opportunities. As a result, I am really passionate about girls and women’s education.
Why should you being the gender you are have less opportunities?
This ties in with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work and I have always supported people to get the chance where there is patient access to healthcare. Gender should never determine the opportunities available to anyone. Everyone, regardless of gender, should have equal access to education, career opportunities, and rights.
Why should you not have access and as a woman why should you be treated differently because of who you are or where you are from?
When women are empowered through education, they have the ability to uplift not only themselves but also those around them, spreading knowledge, compassion, and change. It is a reminder of how essential it is to invest in women’s education for the betterment of society as a whole.
So, with my education, I wanted to change the world, I wanted to ensure women weren’t treated differently and wanted to ensure people get a chance to access healthcare. I wanted to influence others and change policy, so I did a Master’s in Public Health.
Anne Gachango, lead for The Haven, Sirona care & health, received highly commended in The Excellence in Primary Care and Community Care Award. Anne was nominated by Karin Smyth MP and Darren Jones MP.
