Sanda Ojiambo speaks in “What Do We Owe Each Other” university forum
Former Planned Parenthood executive Sanda Ojiambo spoke in a September 12 keynote event during the presidential inauguration events of Father Robert Dowd, C.S.C. Her livestreamed conversation, titled “Business as a Global Force For Good,” was part of the annual Notre Dame Forum, a speaker series For the theme of this year’s forum, Fr. Dowd chose “What Do We Owe Each Other?”
From 2002 to 2008, Ojiambo worked in Planned Parenthood’s international operations in several capacities.
Ojiambo worked as the Senior Programme Officer of Planned Parenthood Federation of America – International from 2002 to 2004, where she directed “reproductive health Programmes in selected African countries, with a focus on youth and advocacy.”
Ojiambo also served as Director of Programmes for International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) in the Africa Regional Office (ARO) from 2004 to 2008. IPPF is “a global healthcare provider and a leading advocate of sexual and reproductive health and rights for all,” according to their website. Their work is “wide-ranging” and includes “comprehensive sex education, provision of contraceptive, safe abortion, and maternal care and responding to humanitarian crises.”
Ojiambo further described this role on her LinkedIn page: “IPPF is the largest NGO working in the area of reproductive health.” Ojiambo directed the specific ARO branch of IPPF, which “delivers information and services and is a strong advocate for reproductive rights.”
The description continues, “I headed the Programmes Department providing strategic leadership and technical assistance for the delivery of a wide range of reproductive health services in over 40 countries in sub Saharan Africa.”
More recently, IPPF has been criticized by Catholics in Nigeria for their pro-abortion agenda, according to one article from Association for Catholic Information in Africa.
The day’s events were emceed by Meghan Sullivan, founding director of Notre Dame’s recently-established Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Sullivan’s opening introduction omitted Ojiambo’s tenure in Planned Parenthood.
The event featured Ojiambo in conversation with Anne Thompson, a member of Notre Dame’s Board of Trustees and Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent for NBC News. In her introduction of Ojiambo, Thompson also did not mention Ojiambo’s work for Planned Parenthood. After summarizing Ojiambo’s education, Thompson stated, “She embarked on a career working in both the public and private sector for some two decades, and all of that led her to where she is today.”
Ojiambo’s biography in the event’s program also omits her positions in Planned Parenthood, only referencing “20 years across public, multilateral, and private sectors.” Ojiambo’s biography in the program continued, “She has a profound understanding of the intersection between business and development, having worked on numerous public-private partnership initiatives and cultivated relationships with key business entities and civil society organizations.”
Ojiambo’s conversation with Thompson touched on sustainable business practices, environmental issues, and gender equality, as well as a number of other issues.
The talk was well-attended, with notable attendees including former Notre Dame presidents Father John Jenkins, C.S.C. and Father Edward Malloy, C.S.C., as well as Dean of the Law School Marcus Cole and other university officials.
According to the event page, Ojiambo’s visit was supported by the Mendoza College of Business and the Notre Dame Deloitte Center for Ethical Leadership (NDDCEL), though Sullivan only mentioned the NDDCEL in her introduction.
Before her talk, Ojiambo also met personally with over 15 students, faculty and staff, coordinated by the NDDCEL and the Business Honors Program.
In 2022, Ojiambo also spoke at Notre Dame in a talk titled “Opportunity and Optimism Ahead,” sponsored by the NDDCEL and the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Religious Values in Business.
Ojiambo currently serves as Executive Director of United Nations Global Compact, the world’s largest corporate sustainability initiative with over 20,000 companies, one of which is IPPF.
This year’s Notre Dame forum Advisory Committee guided the planning of the events and speakers. It consisted of Fr. Dowd; Meghan Sullivan; Ann Firth, Fr. Dowd’s vice president and chief of staff; Paul Bohn, Arthur J. Schmitt Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and director of the Bioengineering and Life Sciences (BELS) Initiative; David Campbell, Packey J. Dee Professor of American Democracy and director of the Democracy Initiative; and Jim Sullivan, professor of economics and director of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO).
The forum is a continuation of a prominent university tradition established in 2005 by Fr. Jenkins in order to foster “campus-wide dialogue about issues of importance to the University, the nation, and the larger world.” The September 12 events opened the 2024 forum as the “Inauguration Series,” held during the week of Fr. Dowd’s inauguration as university president. The forum will also feature talks on the Israel-Palestine conflict, Catholic social thought, and the U.S. Presidential Election.
Described as “a series of ‘fireside chats’ with global leaders in technology, philanthropy, corporate sustainability, and foreign affairs,” this year’s “What Do We Owe Each Other?” forum claims to cite the principles of Catholic social tradition as context for its discussion of certain topics, one of which is “Life and Dignity of the Human Person.”
Other keynote speakers of the forum included Arvin Krishna, David Rockefeller Jr., Admiral Christopher W. Grady, and Ambassador and former Senator Joe Donnelly.
The next event of the forum will be a talk on September 18 titled, “Call to Action! Care for Our Common Home.”
Michael Canady is a junior studying classics and constitutional studies. He can be reached at mcanady2@nd.edu.
Photo credit: The Irish Rover
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