Global Meno Educa-Thon: Virtual Menopause Conference

The Esengwa Keka Heath Initiative (TEKHI)

World Menopause Day celebration 2026

The Global Meno Educa-thon (1st Edition)

25+ Speakers From Across The Globe

An 8 days virtual Women's Health Conference

October 10th - 17th 2026

"Raising Awareness on Menopause and other underserved areas of Women's health"

An initiative by TEKHI GLOBAL

The Global Meno Educa-thon 2026 is an 8 days global virtual learning and awareness movement dedicated to improving menopause & women's health education, understanding, and support across women, families, workplaces, and communities.

Led by TEKHI GLOBAL FOR MENOPAUSE HEALTH, this initiative brings together women & men everywhere, healthcare professionals, mental health experts, educators, advocates, and lived-experience voices to close the global menopause & women's health knowledge gap.

This movement is designed to make menopause & other underserved areas of women's health education:

Accessible
Inclusive
Evidence-based
Community-centered

Menopause remains one of the most under-discussed and misunderstood stages of a woman’s life.

Across many communities, women experience symptoms in silence due to:

Lack of accurate information
Cultural stigma
Limited access to care
Workplace misunderstanding

The Global Meno Educa-thon 2026 aims to change this narrative through open education and global conversation.

Daily Speaker Schedule Available for Download

October 10th-17th. Four sessions daily. One hour per session. 2-6 pm WAT

Download Daily Program

Over 7 days, participants will engage in:

✔️ Expert-led educational talks

✔️ Real-life lived experience stories

✔️ Community dialogue sessions

✔️ Mental health and wellbeing discussions

✔️ Workplace and policy conversations

✔️ Global interactive sessions

This event is open to:

Women & men of all ages
Healthcare professionals
Mental health practitioners
Employers and HR leaders
Community organizations
Educators and advocates
General public

This Event is

Fully virtual (zoom)
Global accessibility
Interactive sessions
Live expert discussions
Community engagement focus

Speakers & Contributors

Lived experience advocacy
Community voices
Menopause advocates & women's health
Workplace health and policy
Community health education
Menopause HCPs
Researchers
Gynaecology experts
Mental health and wellbeing
Sexual and reproductive health

Join the Movement

Menopause is not a mystery. It is a life stage we must understand together. Be part of a global conversation that is changing how the world sees menopause.

Registration for attendance

This virtual conference is free but registration is mandatory. Only registered members will be admitted into the event daily. Event Updates will be sent to you by email.

Meet The Speakers

25+ Speakers From Across The Globe

Troy Robbin Hailparn, M.D., FACOG, FICS, FAACS, based in the USA, is the founder of the Cosmetic Gynecology Center of San Antonio and one of America's most experienced cosmetic gynecologic surgeons. Board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology since 1998, her practice focuses exclusively on vulvovaginal and intimate health, including the changes women experience through and after menopause. She has performed more than 9,000 procedures — including over 6,000 vaginal rejuvenation surgeries and 1,000 labiaplasties — across three decades of clinical work.

In 2015, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists invited Dr. Hailparn to author the first-ever and only ACOG labiaplasty e-module, used to educate physicians worldwide. She is the author of Beneath Your Pink Perfect, now in its second edition. She has presented at the FIGO World Congress in Rome, COGI in Paris and Hainan, the 1st World Congress of Reconstructive and Cosmetic Gynecology in New Delhi, the ICS Annual Meeting, and TEDxSanAntonio, and her work has been featured by CNN, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and The Times of London.

Dr. Marie Keka, MD, LEA-WH Fellow, USA NAM Fellow, based in Cameroon is the Founder, International Menopause & Midlife Women's Health Network (IMWHN) | Founder & CEO, TEKHI GLOBAL for Menopause Health | Founder, Dr. Marie Keka's Menopause Clinic -Limbe Cameroon, Founder, WHAT Initiative | Founder, Global Meno Educa-thon Initiative | Menopause & Midlife Women's Health Specialist | International Menopause Society (IMS) Member

Presentation Topic : Uninformed Healthcare Professionals: The Silent Cause of Preventable Menopause Health Complications

Participants will understand how inadequate menopause education among healthcare professionals contributes to missed diagnoses, delayed treatment, unnecessary suffering, and preventable health complications. They will also gain practical insights into strengthening menopause competency, promoting evidence-based practice, and improving the quality of care for women throughout the menopause transition.

Dr. Marie Keka is a physician, menopause and midlife women's health specialist, and a global advocate for improving women's health across the lifespan.

Through clinical practice, education, advocacy, research, and digital health innovation, she is dedicated to advancing evidence-based menopause care and building the capacity of healthcare professionals to improve the lives of women worldwide.

Elsie Wandera based in Kenya | Founder, Endometriosis Foundation of Kenya | Co-Chair, World Endometriosis Organisation | Member, World Endometriosis Society

Presentation Topic: “From Silence to Science: Turning Lived Experience into Evidence-Based Advocacy in Women’s Midlife Health”

Elsie Wandera is the Founder of the Endometriosis Foundation of Kenya and Co-Chair of the World Endometriosis Organisation. A researcher, advocate and speaker, she has spent over a decade turning her own diagnosis into a national and global advocacy platform,working at the intersection of lived experience, research and policy to change how endometriosis is recognized and treated.

Dr. Sulbha Arya, based in India, MBBS, MD (Radiation Oncology) | Oncologist | Midlife Hormonal Health Specialist | Founder, Redefine Midlife™ | StrongER Survivorship Program

Topic: When Menopause Comes Without Warning: Navigating Treatment-Induced Menopause After Cancer

Dr. Sulbha Arya is an Oncologist and Midlife Hormonal Health Specialist with over 20 years of clinical experience. She has spent much of her career caring for women with cancer and has seen firsthand the physical, emotional and psychological impact of treatment-induced menopause.

Her work today sits at the intersection of oncology, survivorship and midlife hormonal health. Through Redefine Midlife and her StrongER Survivorship Program, she helps women understand and navigate fatigue, brain fog, sleep disturbances, metabolic changes, treatment-induced menopause, emotional recovery and rebuilding life after cancer treatment.

Dr. Sulbha is passionate about bringing menopause and hormonal health into conversations that have traditionally focused only on cancer treatment and survival—because surviving cancer is not the end of the journey; women also need support in rebuilding their health and identity afterwards.

Session focus: I would like to explore what happens when menopause is suddenly triggered by chemotherapy, ovarian suppression, surgery or other cancer treatments—and why these women often need a very different kind of support from women going through a natural menopausal transition.bas

Ruth Musembi spent years pushing through exhaustion, brain fog, and anxiety before she understood she was navigating menopause — and even longer before she found the accurate information that helped her move from confusion to clarity, and eventually, to peace. Today, she speaks openly about that journey to break the silence and stigma that still surround menopause, particularly in African contexts, and to remind women that this stage of life can be one of renewed wisdom and purpose rather than diminishment.

Ruth brings this same commitment to honest, evidence-based communication into her professional life as a Communication and Sustainability Strategy Advisor with over 25 years of experience advising executive teams, boards, and institutions. A contributing author to the Taylor & Francis Routledge Handbook of Communication Ethics, Second Edition (2025) and a Fellow and Golden Honors Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, she is also Adjunct Faculty at universities in Kenya and at the Chartered Institute of PR in the UK.

Topic: From Despair to Peace: How Correct Menopause Information Changed My Journey

In this talk, I would share my lived experience as a working midlife woman juggling career, family, health, and everyday life. I would further share how access to correct menopause information made a significant difference in how I began to navigate this season with greater peace and relief.

The expected community impact is that midlife women will know they are not alone, feel seen and understood, and receive practical tips to help them navigate midlife, work, family responsibilities, and menopause with greater clarity and peace; and begin to feel like they have their lives back again.

Dr. Linda Bing PhD, CDE, CRS | CEO Turning Point Leadership Group, LLC is a Hormonal Health & Performance Strategist based in the USA , with more than 25 years of leadership development and organizational consulting experience. She works with women 40+ who find themselves thinking, “Something feels off—and I can’t quite explainit,” helping them understand and navigate the hormonal shifts that can quietly impact clarity, confidence, and decision-making at the very stage when their experience and leadership matter most.

Through practical guidance, relatable education, and real-world strategies, Dr. Linda helps women stabilize their performance while protecting their energy, authority, and earning power. Her work is grounded in her signature concept of Power Longevity™—theability for women to sustain their influence, vitality, and leadership presence well into the second half of their careers.

Rather than framing menopause as a women’s medical problem, Dr. Linda positions it as a community development issue that affects families, organizations, and societies as a whole. Through strategic guidance and education, Dr. Linda helps women increase awareness,start conversations, share accurate information, and create supportive environments where women can navigate this life stage with dignity, knowledge, and confidence.

Dr Theodosia Oben Mbonjo Mbaho, M.D., MPH., based in Cameroon

Longevity & Fitness Medicine | Women’s health | Cancer Prevention & Research | Aspiring Surgical Oncologist

A medical doctor with a growing professional focus in longevity medicine, preventive health, women’s health, cancer prevention and fitness-based health optimization. My work is guided by a simple yet important question: How can we extend health span while preventing the diseases that most significantly compromise quality of life and longevity? I am particularly interested in the intersection of healthy aging, metabolic/hormonal health, cancer prevention and early detection with a focus on women and gynecologic cancers.

Alongside my clinical work, I am pursing a long-term pathway in surgery and cancer research, with the goal of integrating surgical practice with research in cancer prevention, early detection, treatment and post-survival care.

At the Global Meno Educa-thon 2026 I will be presenting on the topic “The Menopause-cancer connection: what every woman needs to know”. In simple terms, participants will:

Understand how menopause and cancer are connected.

Know what to do to lower their risk of cancer.

Recognize warning signs and know when to seek medical care.

Learn how to stay healthy and age well after menopause

Tafiq Akhir, widely known as Mr. Menopause, based in the USA, is an internationally recognized menopause educator, and healthy aging strategist, host of The Menopause Made Simple Show, and author of Decoding The 80 Symptoms and Side Effects of Menopause. He helps women and organizations better understand, navigate, and support menopause through evidence based education, training, and trusted resources.

Ivan Wang is the Founder and CEO of Whisp Inc., from USA a women’s sleep wellness brand pioneering “The Sleep Experience Layer™ for Women.” Whisp focuses on non-hormonal nighttime comfort solutions for women experiencing menopause, night sweats, hot flashes, overheating, treatment-induced menopause, and cancer survivorship. Through plant-based textile innovation, Whisp supports better sleep continuity, thermoregulation, recovery, and quality of life.

Dr. Joy Ifunanya Odimegwu from Nigeria, is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Lagos, Faculty of Pharmacy specializing in Pharmacognosy. With a career dedicated to the intersection of nature and life sciences, she focuses her research on "foods as medicines" and the development of herbal solutions using biotechnological and cutting edge methods. Her professional journey began as a Senior Plant Research Supervisor at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and progressed through significant roles in Secondary Education and Leadership before joining the University of Lagos in 2012 after the conclusion of her PhD studies.

As a Nutraceutical Scientist and founder of a Lagos-based startup; Gaudium Natural Health Consult. She has successfully commercialized innovative research findings, creating natural health products like CITRUTOX™ hand and surface sanitizer, PAINOMOPLUS+™ highly effective essential oil-based painkiller and BROCCULUS™ a powerful plant-based hormones modulating matrix. She pays particular attention to research on women’s health in the areas of iron deficiency anaemia and menopause. She is seeking investors to scale up her small business enterprises in order to expandtheir reach.

Her prolific academic output includes several books, the best selling, Foods and Hormones: Phytoestrogens in Edible Plants and Human Reproductive Health (2020), Antibiotic Plants, 2023 and Painkiller Plants, 2024 which aims to simplify complex scientific findings for a general audience. Arecipient of numerous prestigious honors, Dr. Odimegwu was recently named a LEA-WH Fellow, 2026 for Menopause reset, a Mujeres por Africa Fellow in 2024 for a project focused on the development and characterization of polymeric nanoparticles loaded with bioactive plant products for targeted therapy in Head and Neck, and Triple Negative Breast Cancers. Other notable accolades include being a LASRIC Fellow from Nigerian Government, a TWAS-UNESCO Associate, and a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation African Women in Agricultural Research and Development(AWARD)Fellow.

Looking toward the future, she is exploring the application of Artificial Intelligence in pharmaceutical drug formulations as she transitions from core drug discovery to translational research. Dr. Odimegwu remains committed to finding natural solutions for cancer, chronic pain, and microbial drug resistance, driven by a goal to eradicate illnesses through sustainable, science backedbotanical innovations madeavailable to the society for immediate positive impact

TOPIC: Rewiring the Menopausal Body Through Targeted Nutrition

Menopause is a whole-body biological transition that can be positively influenced through targeted nutrition. If we combine sound science with accessible, evidence-based dietary strategies, we can improve the health and quality of life of millions of women, especially across Africa where affordable interventions are urgently needed.

Specific impacts

A. Shift in the Scientific Understanding of Menopause

B. Improved Women's Health Through Evidence-Based Nutrition

C. Influence on Public Health Policy Across Africa

Dr. Michelle Nicole Chapa, MD, MPH, based in Tanzania is a Mental Health Systems Consultant, Public Health Professional and the Founder of Michelle Chapa Foundation, based in Tanzania. She works to strengthen mental health systems, promote rights-based care, and improve access to mental healthcare across Africa. Her interests include community mental health, health systems strengthening, mental health policy, advocacy, and the integration of mental health into primary healthcare.

Arti Dangi, founder of YogAhar, based in India is a menstrual health therapist and therapeutic yoga practitioner, and she helps working women deal with period pain, PMS, PCOS, hormonal imbalance, and perimenopause, the things most of us are just told to tolerate and get on with.

Expected Impact of the Presentation: Pelvic Organ Prolapse

Presenting on pelvic organ prolapse at the Global Meno Educa-thon is expected to increase awareness of a common but often under-recognized condition affecting many midlife and older women. The session will empower participants to recognize early symptoms, reduce stigma and misconceptions, and encourage timely health-seeking behavior. It will also promote evidence-based prevention strategies, including pelvic floor muscle training, healthy lifestyle practices, and appropriate medical care. By equipping healthcare professionals, advocates, and women with practical knowledge, the presentation will contribute to improved quality of life, earlier diagnosis, reduced complications, and stronger global collaboration in advancing pelvic floor health and healthy aging for women.

Ambassador Matilda Tita , based in Cameroon, 1st IMWHN Ambassador to Cameroon

Presentation Topic: My Menopause Journey: Navigating the Challenges of Menopause as a Teacher in Cameroon

Participants will gain firsthand insight into the realities of living through the different stages of menopause while balancing a demanding teaching career. The session aims to reduce stigma, encourage open conversations, inspire women to seek support, and demonstrate that menopause can be navigated with knowledge, resilience, and the right care.

Matilda Tita is the 1st International Menopause Women's Health Network (IMWHN) Ambassador to Cameroon and a passionate advocate for menopause awareness. As an experienced educator, she is committed to sharing her personal menopause journey to educate, inspire, and empower women. Through her lived experience, she advocates for greater understanding, workplace support, and improved menopause education for women across Cameroon.

Dr.Saira Alladina BSc Pharm, Pharm D, MSCP , Menopause Specialist, based in Canada, is the founder of Hormones in Harmony-Menopause Solutions, a menopause-focused practice based in British Columbia, Canada. She is passionate about helping women navigate perimenopause and menopause through evidence-based, personalized care that empowers them to make informed decisions about their health.

With a Doctor of Pharmacy degree and extensive clinical experience, Dr. Alladina specializes in menopause hormone therapy, healthy aging, and lifestyle interventions that optimize women's health during midlife and beyond. Her practice emphasizes translating the latest scientific evidence into practical, individualized treatment plans that improve quality of life.

In addition to her clinical work, Dr. Alladina is a dedicated educator who regularly provides presentations and educational sessions for healthcare professionals and the public. She is committed to improving menopause literacy, dispelling common myths, and increasing access to high-quality menopause care through education, advocacy, and community engagement.

At the Global Meno Educa-Thon, Dr. Alladina will present on "Menopause Hormone Therapy: Separating Myths from Evidence," providing attendees with practical, evidence-based insights to help them better understand the role of hormone therapy in modern menopause care.

Dean Siebert, From South Africa, Founder & CEO | DSF, International Speaker, Workplace Health & Human Performance Strategist

Presentation Theme: Menopause Doesn’t Stay at Home. It Comes to Work.Understanding What Menopause Means for the Workplace

Many conversations about menopause quite rightly focus on diagnosis and treatment. My presentation looks at what happens when women return to work and how menopause can influence confidence, communication, performance, leadership and the overall workplace experience.

The session is designed to help leaders and organisations better understand this often overlooked challenge. It offers practical, people-focused ideas that can help create healthier workplaces where women feel supported and organisations benefit from stronger performance.

Ivan Rose, based in the United Kingdom, The Emotional Decoder™ , Emotional Regulation Specialist | Therapist | Speaker | Author, Creator of the CHaNT Method and Midlife Reset

Presentation Theme: Why Don’t I Feel Like Myself? Decoding the Emotional Impact of Midlife and Menopause.

This presentation is expected to increase awareness of the emotional and psychological changes that commonly occur during midlife and menopause, helping women understand that these experiences are real, common, and manageable. It will reduce stigma, foster self-compassion, and encourage open conversations about mental and emotional well-being.

Participants will gain practical, evidence-based strategies to recognize symptoms, build resilience, seek timely support, and access appropriate care. By empowering women, healthcare professionals, and advocates with accurate knowledge, the session will contribute to improved mental well-being, earlier intervention, stronger support networks, and a more holistic approach to healthy aging and menopause care worldwide.

Ivan Rose is a UK-based emotional regulation specialist, therapist, speaker and author who helps women 40+ feel calmer, think more clearly and feel like themselves again.

Known as The Emotional Decoder™, Ivan helps people understand what may be happening beneath anxiety, overwhelm, self-doubt and changes in identity. He is the creator of the CHaNT Method and Ivan’s Daily Midlife Reset, translating complex ideas about emotions and human behaviour into practical, accessible support.

An experienced international speaker and podcast guest, Ivan brings warmth, clarity and therapeutic insight to conversations about midlife emotional wellbeing, self-trust and lasting change.

Ogbata Chinonso Princess, Founder, Vokora Women's Health , Registered Midwife, Clinical Data Analyst, Reproductive Health and Fibroid Advocate based in Nigeria,

She holds a Bachelor's degree in Biochemistry, bringing together expertise in healthcare, biomedical science, and data analytics to advance women's health. She is passionate about improving sexual and reproductive health through education, advocacy, and data-driven solutions that enhance health outcomes.

Her commitment to this work is shaped by both her professional background and her personal experience with uterine fibroids. After living with the condition and undergoing a myomectomy, she gained firsthand insight into the physical, emotional, and psychological challenges many women face. This experience strengthened her resolve to promote early diagnosis, improve access to accurate health information, and encourage open conversations about women's sexual and reproductive health.

She is the founder of Vokora Women's Health, a platform dedicated to empowering women through evidence-based health education and raising awareness about key sexual and reproductive health issues. Through this initiative, she equips women with the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their health while fostering a supportive community where women's voices are heard and their health concerns are addressed.

Presentation Topic: The Silent Burden of Navigating Fibroids, Sexual Intimacy Taboos, and Menopause among Nigerian Women.

Expected Community Impact: Women face a unique "double burden" as they transition into menopause with wombs already physically altered by highly prevalent uterine fibroids. My session will provide evidence-based clinical clarity on how the menopause transition impacts fibroid symptoms, while directly addressing the severe cultural taboos around post-menopausal intimacy. By breaking the silence on physical pain (like vaginal atrophy) and dismantling the myth that a woman's sexual life ends at menopause, this presentation will empower Nigerian women to stop suffering in silence, prevent marital strain, and seek appropriate clinical care.

Tanya Aviles-Therrien, B.S., M.S.Ed., DAS, based in the USA, Founder, Breathe Body & Balance, LLC. Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist | Certified Personal Trainer | Nutrition Specialist | Educator

Presentation Topic : Beyond the Symptoms: How Menopause Impacts the Relationships That Matter Most

This presentation will explore how perimenopause and menopause influence a woman's relationship with herself, her partner, family, and friends. Participants will gain evidence-based, practical strategies to improve communication, foster understanding, strengthen relationships, and build supportive environments that help women thrive throughout the menopause transition.

Tanya Aviles-Therrien is a Certified Menopause Coaching Specialist, Certified Personal Trainer, Nutrition Specialist, and educator dedicated to helping women navigate perimenopause and menopause through evidence-based education, movement, nutrition, and practical lifestyle strategies.

Passionate about translating science into everyday practice, Tanya empowers women to better understand the physical, emotional, and relational changes of menopause, enabling them to feel informed, supported, confident, and equipped to thrive beyond the menopause transition.

Vinita Thakur, based in India, founder of CycleALIGN, India's first decision intelligence platform for women

Presentation Theme: Beyond Menopause: Redefining Women's Performance Through Hormone-Aware Living

This presentation will challenge traditional perspectives on menopause by promoting hormone-aware living as a pathway to improved health, productivity, and well-being. It will empower women, healthcare professionals, and organizations to recognize hormonal changes as an opportunity to optimize performance rather than a limitation. Attendees will gain practical insights into creating supportive environments that enable women to thrive through midlife and beyond.

Vinita Thakur is a Delhi-based founder, investor, and entrepreneur with over six years of experience in marketing across India, Europe, Africa, and Asia. She builds innovative solutions at the intersection of women's health, climate technology, and entrepreneurship. As the founder of CycleALIGN, India's first decision intelligence platform for women, she is pioneering hormone-aware productivity by helping women align their work and life with their natural hormonal rhythms. Through her work with Aurang India, Vinita is driving conversations and innovations that redefine women's health, performance, and leadership across the globe.

Felicity Jehu-Appiah, MBBS, Women’s Health Educator | Reproductive Health Advocate from Ghana

Felicity Jehu-Appiah is a medical graduate (MBBS), women's health educator, medical writer, and clinical research professional dedicated to making evidence-based health information accessible, practical, and easy to understand. She specializes in translating complex medical research into clear, engaging educational content that empowers women to make informed decisions about their health. Her work focuses on reproductive health, menstrual health, fertility awareness, hormonal disorders, menopause, preventive healthcare, and women's health literacy. With a strong foundation in medicine and clinical research, she combines scientific accuracy with effective health communication to develop educational resources, patient-centered content, research-based articles, and medical publications. She is passionate about bridging the gap between research and real-world healthcare by transforming scientific evidence into information that improves health outcomes.

Presentation Topic: Rethinking PCOS: Beyond Fertility; Understanding PCOS as a Lifelong Women’s Health Condition.

Through this presentation, I hope to explore the evolving understanding of PCOS, address common misconceptions, and highlight the importance of recognizing PCOS as a condition that affects women’s health beyond fertility, across different stages of life.

Vonayi Nyamazana, based in the U.K. is the Founder of theKetura Woman Movement and an award-winning Community Menopause Champion, Executive Menopause Coach, speaker and author of “More Than My Menopause.”

Through her work, she has supported hundreds of women navigating perimenopause and menopause, with a particular focus on culturally responsive care, community-led support and amplifying lived experience.

She is passionate about bridging the gap between women's stories, research, policy and practice to improve menopause care for future generations.

A holder of an LLB (Hons) she has worked in the criminal justice system, advocacy, social care and the voluntary sector.

Discussion Theme:

Menopausing as a Black African Woman in the Diaspora: Navigating Two Cultures, One Journey

Participants will leave with this understanding:

Menopause is a universal biological transition, but it is experienced through the lens of culture, identity, community, and lived experience. Supporting Black African women in the diaspora requires not only medical knowledge but also cultural understanding, empathy, and inclusive action.

Simon Salt , writer, speaker, and Certified Menopause Coach based in the USA , focuses on the relationship and social impact of menopause. Through his publication The Quiet Transition, he explores how menopause affects not only women, but also partners, families, workplaces, and communities.

Drawing on his lived experience as a husband supporting his wife through menopause, Simon helps create greater understanding, empathy, and practical support through writing, speaking, interviews, and community conversations.

Presentation Theme: The Ripple Effect of Menopause: Why Menopause Is Never Experienced by Just One Person

Drawing from lived experience as a male partner supporting someone through menopause, this talk explores how menopause extends beyond symptoms and creates ripple effects across relationships, families, workplaces, and communities

Reflecting on the emotional and relational shifts that can occur during menopause, including changes in communication, connection, identity, and mutual understanding
Exploring how silence, confusion, and lack of shared language can deepen disconnection for both women and the people supporting them, based on personal experience and wider community conversations
Examining the wider social and economic impact of menopause, including its influence on workplace participation, caregiving, emotional wellbeing, and relationship stability
Sharing how lived experience led to the creation of conversations and resources designed to help partners, families, and communities respond with greater empathy, awareness, and support

Expected impact on the community:
Participants will gain a broader understanding of menopause as a shared human and relational experience, encouraging more open conversations, stronger support systems, and greater compassion within families, workplaces, and communities.

Z. Colette Edwards, MD MBA, based in USA, is the Founder and Chief Medical Officer of pausitive health, an holistic, inclusive, one-stop destination for women in all stages of the menopause journey.

Dr. Edwards is a graduate of Harvard University, The Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Wharton School. Immediately prior to founding pausitive health, she was the National Medical Director for Associate Health and Well-Being at Humana.

She is the Managing Editor of the Wharton Healthcare Quarterly and a 3-time author: a McGraw-Hill GI text, Be Less Stressed, and Navigating Your Healthcare Journey: Lessons Learned to Get the Care You Need and Deserve. She is a Board Member of Bread for the City.

Presentation theme and expected impact

The Maternity-Menopause Journey Connection

Provide education and actions that can be taken to optimize both journeys. This is a topic rarely discussed when it comes to the menopause journey, and most OBs are not making the connection and providing the guidance needed by pregnant and postpartum women regarding the impact of pregnancy and the postpartum period can have on the menopause journey, their overall health and well-being, and their chronic condition risk.

The Lifecycle Legacy

This session will cover the often overlooked connection between the maternity and menopause journeys, including hormonal shifts, identity transformation, physical and mental chronic condition risks, and lifelong care to optimize health and well-being.

Natalie Rivans, based in the U.K. is Co-CEO of re-origin, a neuroplasticity and nervous-system education platform, and a Certified Menopause Coach and Somatic Practitioner. Her work focuses on helping women understand how changes in the brain, nervous system and body can influence the way they experience stress, overwhelm, sleep disruption, anxiety and other challenges during midlife. She combines neuroscience, neuroplasticity and practical body-based approaches to help women feel more informed, supported and confident navigating this stage of life.

Presentation Theme

Why Everything Feels Harder: The Nervous System in Menopause

How hormonal transition can affect stress sensitivity, emotional reactivity, sleep, overwhelm and resilience, and what women can do to support regulation.

Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of why menopause can affect the way they respond to stress, emotions and everyday demands. The session will help women recognise that feeling more reactive, overwhelmed or less resilient is not simply a failure to cope, but can reflect changes in the way the brain and nervous system are responding during this transition. They will also learn practical, accessible ways to support regulation, build greater nervous-system flexibility and respond to challenging moments with more awareness and choice.

Vanessa Tasi, ACCA, based in the U.S.A. serves as Volunteer Chief Strategy Officer at TEKHI Global. A Chartered Certified Accountant with a background in financial coordination, systems implementation, and cross-departmental risk management, she brings that same rigor to leading her own business ventures, and now to shaping TEKHI Global's strategic direction: sharpening its financial discipline, building the systems that let a growing organization scale without losing its founding clarity, and translating strategy into outcomes women can actually feel. Originally from Limbe, Cameroon, with a path that has carried her through the UK and into the US, Vanessa's hope for TEKHI Global is straightforward: that it becomes health infrastructure women can rely on, wherever they stand in life, and in society.

PRESENTATION THEME: LEARN AND EARN WITH TEKHI

This session will introduce participants to the TEKHI Global Platform and demonstrate how to navigate and use the platform as a go-to hub for women’s health learning across all life stages—from menstruation to menopause and beyond.

The session will also highlight how TEKHI creates opportunities for advocates, women with lived experiences, healthcare professionals, organizations, and anyone passionate about women’s health to turn their passion and knowledge into practical skills, meaningful impact, and a potential source of income.

Participants will learn how they can engage with TEKHI not only as learners, but also as contributors, advocates, educators, and community builders—using the platform to learn, share, empower others, develop valuable skills, and earn.

Expected Community Impact

The session is expected to increase awareness and practical use of the TEKHI Global Platform, encourage more people to participate in women’s health education, and demonstrate how knowledge and passion can be transformed into skills and income-generating opportunities.

Ultimately, the goal is to build a growing community of informed women’s health advocates and contributors who can learn, empower others, create value, and earn through their participation in the TEKHI ecosystem.

Ndah-Enow Kelly-Daisy is a Cameroonian practicing midwife, Reproductive Health Educator. She is a Maternal and Adolescent Health Advocate with a focused interest in Menstrual Health and Hygiene and its connection to reproductive health.

Through her community-based and digital health education work, Kelly translates reproductive health information into practical, understandable knowledge that women and girls can apply to their everyday lives.

She founded and facilitates a growing online reproductive health community of 130+ members, where she provides regular education on menstrual health, ovulation, fertile windows, menstrual-cycle tracking, family planning, vaginal health, among others while creating a safe space for women and girls to ask questions and seek reliable information.

Her work has included responding to individual reproductive health concerns with evidence-based education and appropriate guidance, helping women and girls better understand their bodies and know when to seek professional care. She is also developing community-based menstrual health education initiatives that combine health education with access to menstrual materials for women and girls in underserved communities.Kelly holds First Class Honours in Midwifery from the University of Buea and is a 100% scholarship recipient of the Women’s Health Advocacy Training (WHAT) Program.

Presentation Theme:

Understanding the Menstrual Cycle for Better Reproductive Health Decisions

Expected community impact :

The session will improve menstrual and reproductive health literacy among women and girls by helping them understand their menstrual cycles, recognize normal cycle variations, identify their fertile window, and make more informed reproductive and family-planning decisions. It will also help challenge common menstrual and fertility misconceptions, encourage women to track and understand their cycles, and promote timely consultation with qualified healthcare professionals when they notice concerning changes.

Christolina Kavetuna , is a Registered Nurse, Midwife, Public Health Specialist and PhD Scholar from Namibia, with more than 18 years of experience across clinical care, public health, Case & disease management, healthcare management, health systems strengthening, community health education and advocacy.

Her professional journey has been closely connected to women’s health, cancer prevention and community health education. During her time as Head of Medical Services at the Cancer Association of Namibia, she played a key role in national cancer outreach, screening and education, with a particular focus on breast, cervical and prostate cancer. During her year at the Cancer Association, in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and Roche Pharmaceuticals, she spearheaded Namibia’s first national HPV DNA screening and data-collection pilot. She also supported the training of healthcare professionals in cancer screening, contributed to the Namibia National Cancer Registry, Youth healthy lifestyle campaigns and worked extensively with communities across the country.

Today, Christolina continues to combine her clinical, public health, leadership and research experience with a growing passion for women’s health and cancer advocacy. Her interests span reproductive and sexual health, gynecological cancers, mental wellbeing, healthy lifestyles and epigenetics, with a particular interest in making women’s health conversations more visible, accessible and inclusive.

Through her participation in the TEKHI Global Women’s Health Advocacy Training (WHAT) Programme, Christolina has further developed her interest in women’s health advocacy and begun shaping an idea she has carried for some time: HERHealthOurHealth Namibia. The initiative is currently an emerging concept, with a vision to develop into a women and girls’ health advocacy platform that connects women, girls, health professionals, men, organisations and community leaders.

As a speaker at the Global Meno-Educa-thon, Christolina brings together her experience as a nurse, midwife and public health professional with her growing work in women’s health advocacy. Her message is that women’s health may be experienced individually, but understanding, education and support can be a shared responsibility.

Presentation Theme:

“Walking Through Menopause Together: A Woman’s Journey and the Partner’s Role in Support and Understanding.”

My session will explore menopause not only as a biological and health transition, but also as a relationship, family and community experience.

* Understanding Importance of menopause education beyond the women.

* The impact on relationships: how changes during menopause can sometimes affect communication, intimacy, emotional connection and family dynamics.

* The partner’s perspective: why partners may struggle to understand what is happening and why they too need access to accurate menopause education.

* Communication and empathy: practical ways partners can listen, communicate openly, avoid dismissing symptoms and create a safe space for women to express what they are experiencing.

* Supporting intimacy and sexual wellbeing: creating respectful conversations around changes in desire, comfort, body image and intimacy without shame or blame.

* Knowing when support is needed: recognising when symptoms or emotional changes may require professional healthcare support rather than simply being accepted as something a woman must endure.

* Menopause as a family and community conversation: why educating partners, families, workplaces and communities can help reduce stigma and isolation.

* Moving from awareness to meaningful support: shifting from simply knowing what menopause is to understanding how we can actively support women going through it.

Participants can expect an open, inclusive conversation that goes beyond hormones and symptoms.

Reflect — consider how menopause can affect relationships, communication, family life and intimacy.

Understand — hear why the people surrounding women also need menopause education.

Learn practical ways to support — explore simple ways partners, family members, friends and communities can respond with empathy, patience and understanding.

Talk about the conversations we sometimes avoid — including emotional wellbeing, body image, intimacy and sexual health.

Recognise the importance of professional support — understanding that while menopause is a natural life transition, women do not have to suffer through difficult or disruptive symptoms without help.

Forbi Anna Ungietoh, BSc Nursing, MPH, based in Cameroon, is the Founder of PCOS Diaries with Marquise | PMOS Advocate and Coach | Public Health Professional | Nurse Educator | Author, PMOS Unfiltered

Presentation Topic:

Beyond the Diagnosis: Understanding the Woman Behind PMOS

Participants will understand how PMOS affects women beyond clinical symptoms, including the emotional, psychological, and relational impact of living with the condition. They will gain insights into the importance of whole-person care, the role of families and partners in supporting women with PMOS, and how better communication and education can reduce stigma, challenge misinformation, and improve the lived experience of women navigating PMOS.

Forbi Anna Ungietoh is a nurse, public health professional, and PMOS Advocate and Coach dedicated to helping women understand their bodies and navigate PMOS without fear, shame, or misinformation. Through PCOS Diaries with Marquise and her book PMOS Unfiltered, she creates education and community for women living with PMOS and the people who support them.