In my inaugural address in Cape Town, South Africa, in October 2009, I called for a change that, in addition to ensuring faster achievement of health-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), will make the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) more visible to obstetricians and gynecologists around the world, particularly those in low-income countries [1]. Key to this change is improving the quality of health care for women and newborns through education, training, and capacity building. One way to pursue such a change, and to strengthen FIGO's ties with its member societies and regional federations, was tomove the Executive Board meeting from its traditional venue in London, UK, to Africa, with a view to holding the meeting in different parts of the globe— particularly in countries and regions that would benefit most from FIGO's assistance. FIGO was very pleased that the Association of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Tanzania (AGOTA) agreed to host the Officers’ and Executive Board meetings on June 24–26, 2010, in Dar es Salaam. Africawas chosen as the site of the first Executive Boardmeeting to be held outside London for several reasons. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there is a pressing unfinished agenda on reproductive and sexual health—particularly family planning, and maternal/newborn mortality and morbidity. The fertility rate averages more than 5 children per woman, ensuring a population growth that will continue well into the 21st century [2]. There is a shortage of more than 1 million healthcare workers in Africa, where 3% of the global healthcare workforce provides health services to 24% of the global burden of disease [3]. The “brain drain” of Africa's healthcare workforce further weakens the continent's already fragile reproductive and sexual health services, and significantly impedes the achievement of health-related MDGs. Tanzania is typical of Sub-Saharan Africa, where levels of maternal and newborn deaths and diseases remain unacceptably high. The country's health statistics are appalling: the maternal mortality ratio is 790 per 100 000 live births and the lifetime risk of maternal death is