Kate Bourne

International Women's Health Coalition

As IWHC’s Vice President for International Policy and Regional Programs, Kate Bourne manages a team of regional specialists who oversee financial and technical support of IWHC’s colleagues in Africa, Asia, and Latin America, and helps link their work to IWHC’s international policy objectives. Before joining IWHC in May, 2005, Ms. Bourne was most recently Vice President for Country and Regional Programs at the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) in New York. Prior to this position, she served as IAVI’s Executive Vice President. From 1994 – 2001, Ms. Bourne worked with Pathfinder International, first as Country Representative for Vietnam and then as Director of Public Affairs in Watertown, MA. She lived in Beijing, China, from 1990 – 1993, where she was a consultant to the United Nations Population Fund. Ms. Bourne has a Master’s of Public Health degree in International and Family Health from the University of Texas in Houston and holds a BA in English Literature from the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Straight Talk about Male Circumcision

Kate Bourne

Adult male circumcision is being pushed as the latest magic bullet for the HIV pandemic -- and there's reason for enthusiasm. But circumcision will not guarantee that men won't contract HIV or that their female partners are protected.

Women’s Health and Rights – A Business Investment

Kate Bourne

Kate Bourne is IWHC's Vice President for International Policy and Regional Programs.

In the United States, we have long expected corporations to be accountable to their employees by providing health insurance for workers and their families. Recently, around the world, the framework of corporate responsibility has expanded to include not only a company's employees, but also surrounding communities.

Investing in women's health and rights is a key mechanism for promotion of corporate accountability, as well as one of the best investments that businesses can make.

More women are living with HIV/AIDS today than ever before - but HIV is only one factor in women's health. In total, sexual and reproductive ill health (which has been around for much longer than HIV/AIDS) accounts for an estimated one-third of the global burden of illness and early death borne by women of reproductive age, which basically corresponds with prime working age.