The second guest speaker of the 2015 Lecture was Sister Dr. Miriam Duggan.

Sister Dr. Miriam Duggan is an Irish Obstetrician, who has spent much of her life working in Africa on issues of maternal health, and HIV and AIDS prevention and care. For thirty years, Sister Miriam worked at St. Francis’ Hospital in Kampala, Uganda, and when the AIDS crisis began to unfold in the late 1980s, she helped to establish clinics and mobile home-based care programmes for those living with HIV, as well as helping the orphans left by parents who had died due to AIDS.

In order to help address the underlying causes of the spread of HIV, Sister Miriam founded the Youth Alive programme, which provides education around sexual behaviour, drugs, self-esteem, and constructive life choices for young people. The programme achieved great success in Uganda, and is has now been extended across 21 African Countries. Sister Miriam is currently working with Hands of Care & Hope in Nairobi, which supports those living in poverty, and women living with HIV. In recognition of her lifetime’s work, Sister Miriam is one of the 2015 recipients of the Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad.

Please click below to view Sister Dr. Miriam’s address, including an introduction by Irish Aid Director General, Michael Gaffey: