On 26th November 2021 South Sudanese Women In Medicine (SSWIM) finalized the establishment of Executive Thematic Committees (ETCs). The SSWIM Executive Thematic Committees (ETCs) were introduced and put forward to the Executive Council by the President of SSWIM’s Board of Trustees (BoT); Dr. Grace Juan Soma, during her presentation on ‘The Future of SSWIM’. This happened during the Orientation and Introduction meeting for the SSWIM Executive Council (EC) held on 16th May 2021 both virtually and in-person.
“SSWIM committees are an excellent avenue where members can plug in and contribute to the organization. These are simply teams or working groups that will focus on and be responsible for spearheading specific tasks, projects or activities for SSWIM”_
The inaugural ETCs are six teams formed by the membership of SSWIM’s Executive Council (EC) in order to facilitate the EC’s effectiveness in delivering on its roles. The six ETCs are: SSWIM Members’ Development Committee, Advocacy, Media and Partnerships Committee, Health Programs, Research and Medical Education Committee, Policy, Planning, Finance and Audits Committee and the Wellness and Members’ Welfare Committee.
Thematic areas of focus for inaugural SSSWIM Executive Thematic Committees
Current SSWIM ETC members and supporting BoT members
All SSWIM executive council members had an opportunity to subscribe to be a part of one ETC through an enrollment survey. Potential chairpersons for the ETCs were approached based on their expertise, interest and ability to lead the various ETCs. Moving forward, the committees will continue benchmarking their respective focus areas and designing support plans for SSWIM with respect to their thematic areas. The ETCs will be critical in the program design for SSWIM in many aspects. Regular SSWIM members will in future be given an opportunity to join an ETC because this is one of the ways through which SSWIM seeks to have its members engaged and ‘empowered to save lives.’ More SSWIM ETCs will be created as SSWIM membership, organizational capacity and scope grows.
