The West African Health Organisation (WAHO) is the health institution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), with a mandate to ensure the attainment of the highest possible level of health and protection of the health of the people of the ECOWAS region. One of its major themes is maternal and child health, and it has therefore prioritized alongside world leaders the need to ensure a region where every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. In a world where fundamental human rights are under threat, it is necessary to have ethical and principled staff who embody these regional and international standards, and who will defend them courageously and with conviction.