FORMER Wellington MP Rebecca Pow has become an ambassador for Somerset-based charity CHASE Africa, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

The charity works to improve access to healthcare and remove barriers to family planning in remote, rural communities in East Africa.

It collaborates with local partners in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania to improve women’s quality of life, taking a holistic approach which empowers women, alongside protecting biodiversity and improving the management of natural resources.

Ms Pow, who was Environment and Nature Restoration Minster in the last Government until losing her seat in the 2024 General Election, also championed biodiversity strategies and ocean conservation when she was previously the Overseas Territories Minister.

She said: “The role women play, especially in the rural communities where CHASE Africa works, is not only bringing up their children but working on the land and running their own enterprises.

“And yet, they too often face tough barriers accessing the very services that can help them better cope with the challenges they face, in particular health information and services.

“In such rural areas, human health is closely interlinked with environmental challenges, relating to water, soil health, and food production, which impact sanitation, hygiene, food security, and incomes.

“The dedicated and focused work that CHASE Africa does is making a real difference in these areas and is improving the health of rural woman and girls in Africa.

“I am delighted to be joining them as an ambassador.”

CHASE Africa was founded by Robin Witt in 2000 as a tree-planting initiative, but found a lack of access to healthcare and family planning was undermining environmental resilience and perpetuating cycles of poverty.

So, the charity expanded its mission to recognise the crucial link between human health and environmental stability, and today works with 13 local partners in East Africa delivering health services and information around community decision-making.