GUMC Researcher and Center Welcome US-Afghan Women’s Council

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Widely known on and off-campus for her work for children with disabilities, Phyllis Magrab, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Center for Child and Human Development will soon welcome her latest undertaking for women and children, the US-Afghan Women’s Council. The Council was ceremoniously transitioned to Georgetown’s Center for Child and Human Development on December 18 in the Roosevelt Room at the White House, and the council is housed at Georgetown officially on January 20.

Formed in 2002, President Bush and President Hamid Karzai announced the creation of the Council, which was designed to promote public and private partnerships to support Afghan women. Since then, U.S. and Afghan institutions have collaborated to deliver a wide range of benefits to women in Afghanistan, including opportunities to participate in their government and economy. The Council aims to assist women in four arenas, including political leadership and legal awareness; economic empowerment; education; and health. In 2006, it added a children’s initiative.

Magrab, who became involved in the council two years ago, was recently named its new vice chair, while Georgetown President John J. DeGioia will serve as co-chair. First Lady Laura Bush, a current council member and proponent of Afghan women’s rights, will remain involved with the Council after its transition to Georgetown.

Because the Council addresses a myriad of issues relating to women and their families, Magrab says, it will be served well by the Center’s complex portfolio of experience with public and private organizations and governments. Magrab explained that while the Center’s early work focused on children with disabilities, it has grown tremendously to support clinical work, research, outreach and policy development to benefit vulnerable populations around the globe.

“Over the last ten years, the Center has been increasingly involved in systems change and development. For example, internationally we have worked with countries in Central and Eastern Europe to develop community-based health care, democracy building programs, preschool initiatives, and inclusive school curriculums,” Magrab says, adding that the Center has worked with every state in the country to help guide mental health services for children.

As part of her new role as vice chair, Magrab recently traveled to Afghanistan with a contingent that included Georgetown alumna Paula Dobriansky, undersecretary of state for democracy and global affairs and council co-chair. While there, the group met with President Karzai and others, and toured Council-supported projects. Magrab says the visit gave her “an opportunity to see how the Council’s projects were working on the ground level.”

From early in her career, Magrab has been engaged with children, believing that the values of future generations rest in how children develop and grow today. She was recognized for her work by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Michael Leavitt, with the “Pioneer for Persons with Disabilities Award” in October 2008.

“When you look into the eyes of children in countries like Afghanistan, you can see the hopefulness and the tragedy that is there. We are morally obligated to do this work. You can see despair, but also hope. You can’t just walk away from it,” says Magrab.

By Ellen Badger, excerpted from the GUMC Update

Pictured (from left to right): Paula Dobriansky, Under-Secretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs, Jack DeGioia, University President, First Lady Laura Bush, and Said Jawad, Afghan ambassador to U.S.