Welcome to our end of year issue of World Vasectomy Day’s Newsletter!
To give perspective, at our 2013 inaugural event, held in Adelaide, Australia, we performed 15 vasectomies. This year, we will surpass an astonishing 24,000 procedures globally. This remarkable growth is a testament to the collective efforts of everyone in the WVD family, but none of this would even exist had it not been for the unequaled passion of Dr. Doug Stein, co-founder and the primary source of inspiration for WVD!
Highlights of 2024
First and foremost, our success is driven by an incredible team of dedicated individuals who believe in our mission so deeply that they put their lives on hold to turn our dreams into reality. To each and every one of you, we extend a heartfelt thanks, but a special shout-out goes to our regional directors in Latin America and Africa: Silvana Resendy and Sheila Gabeya who have taken our movement to new heights.
Sheila, who began her journey with WVD in 2016 as my assistant, took on the monumental task of leading this year’s celebration. We are all blown away by her leadership and the vision she brings to our organization. Sheila, you did an outstanding job, and we couldn’t be prouder. You pulled off the biggest WVD celebration ever, with webinars, a new clinic, the first WVD reversal, and the Summit, all while leading two brilliant teams in Uganda and Zambia.
This year, Silvana along with her team members, Lorena Setien, and Marie Rene Gironda, strengthened partnerships with institutional allies like the Ministries of Health in El Salvador and Argentina, as well as dozens of organizations including UNFPA and FP2030. Remarkably, they coordinated three training sessions across two countries in just five weeks, signed an MOU with El Salvador, launched the WVD Connect program on Whatsapp and laid the groundwork for WVD 2025 to take place in Argentina.
Our doctors are truly without equal. Doug Stein, Michel Labrecque, John Curington, Esgar Guarin, Eloisa Gonzalez, Alex Galante, and Melanie Atkinson – your tireless work training new providers in El Salvador, Argentina, Uganda, and Zambia has left behind sustainable and successful vasectomy programs. As members of the WVD medical advisory board you produced 3 accredited webinars, the annual Summit and the ABCs of Vasectomy for 180 Zambian medical students and 100 more who joined online.
WVD Langiza Chikondi Clinic
(Act of Love)
Under the guidance of John Curington, Michel Labrecque and Esgar Guarin, we opened our first clinic. It serves not only as a center of excellence for vasectomy services, but as a hub for positive masculinity where our champions gather weekly to educate their communities. When we started working in Zambia in 2023, they had done 7 procedures in the previous year. Since opening this past July, we’ve already done over 300 procedures.
Our program will continue to grow under the leadership of Zambian urologist and the Langia Chikondi’s medical director and former trainee and soon to be WVD trainer, Dr. Robert Kachacha.
And to all our providers across the globe, thank you for your incredible work. Let’s find ways to deepen your engagement in the coming year and for us to improve our capacity to support your work.
WVD Academy
For years we’ve been talking about building an Academy to organize and make accessible our organization’s collective knowledge and experience. Finally, this past year, Esgar Guarin, along with Silvana, have taken some big steps forward. Esgar is finishing a basic course on video to teach vasectomy, which includes a manual we are now distributing to all our trainees. Meanwhile Silvana continues working to improve the directory, and launched the WVD Connect platform. We must acknowledge Michel Labrecque’s practice model, the Vasecto-Pro which has streamlined the teaching process.
The Responsible Men’s Club
For years, we envisioned the Responsible Men’s Club as a platform for men who choose a vasectomy to unite individual acts of love into a collective force for social good. This year, Sheila and Zambia Country Director Zulu Daliso turned that dream into reality, launching the program in Lusaka ,Zambia . Today, over 150 members who have chosen to get a vasectomy in Uganda and Zambia are actively sharing their experiences in their communities, empowering other men to make informed decisions. These men contribute by adding cooperative activities such as cleaning streets, donating menstrual products to women, and raising consciousness.
Our Communications and Demand Generation Team
None of this would be possible without a stellar communications team. Kathe Cordoba in Colombia who has been our tech leader for the past 5 years, once again managed endless programmatic challenges in multiple languages. In Zambia we were fortunate to count on Visule Kabunda to produce powerful videos and fabulous graphics for our t-shirts and flyers. As well as running our social media, Christopher Njobvu helped produce 7 editions of our monthly newsletter, which was spearheaded by our editor in chief, Dedra Smith. Edwin Mwanza worked tirelessly filming and editing and continues to turn our content into short videos. Gregory Mofu organized a symposium on men’s sexual and reproductive health, which included a speech by the Minister of Health and a letter from the President of Zambia. Tireless contributions from Michelline Chanda, Bishop Roya Ngalasiya, and Alfred Chunda brought our reach from seven men in 2022, the year we arrived, to over 450 already in 2024.
I would be remiss not to acknowledge the fine work of our Uganda team, led by Country Director Jubilee Golden Zacharia, Mubakali Mwima, and Akao Phiona Morrow, who have inspired over 400 vasectomies while laying the groundwork for major expansion in 2025. Their role will be growing rapidly in 2025.
Our flagship event, 24 Hours of Conversations and Vasectomies, reached new heights this year. Thanks to the programming efforts of Isabel Galeano and the extraordinary coordination and talents of Victor Kasanga, Visule, and Kathe, we held uninterrupted live streams featuring nearly 100 participants and 43 organizations from 31 countries. The 24 Hour ended with a poetry slam organized by Christopher, with brilliant performances by some of Zambia’s most talented spoken word poets.
Gratitude for Our Supporters
Of course, none of this would be possible without financial support so to CIFF, DKT, the Bergstrom Foundation, NSVI, the Male Contraceptive Initiative and the many individual donors who believe in our cause, we are deeply grateful. Every dollar makes a difference. Every bit of advice and guidance is appreciated.
Finally, a very, very special thanks to Yiya Cuberos, our administrative director and resident psychiatrist, who keeps our ship float and our spirits high. She, along with Sarah Gabeya and Maria Eugenia Vera, ensure that every dollar is spent wisely and every activity is fully funded.
Looking Ahead to 2025
If 2024 taught us anything, it’s that a movement grounded in love and compassion, one that asks men to rise up as partners for positive change, is unstoppable. As we look ahead to 2025, our ambitions are even greater. We plan to:
- Expand our programs in Zambia and Uganda.
- Finish our road trip film through the heartland of America.
- Bring WVD’s headquarters to Argentina.
- Bring WVD to the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) in Bogotá, Colombia, from November 3-6.
- Increase our presence in North America.
- Professionalize our administrative mechanisms.
- Enhance our communications systems and outputs
Of course, we can’t do this without your help too. Our movement thrives on your support. Please find it in your hearts, minds, and wallets to give generously. Together, we will continue to make a difference and create a legacy of love and responsibility.
