Women’s and pelvic health
This free webinar is only open to members of World Physiotherapy member organisations in the Africa region.
Attendees will receive a certificate for 2 hours of continuing professional development.
Date and time
Thursday 3 December 2026, 17:00-18:30 UTC. Check your local time
Speakers
- Yollande Djivoh, member of the Beninoise Association of Physiotherapists - Reeducators
- Corlia Brandt, member of the South African Society of Physiotherapy
- Liliane Kirenga, member of the Rwanda Physical Therapy Organisation
- Moderator: Monique Koopman, member of the Africa region executive committee and the South African Society of Physiotherapy
Yollande Djivoh
Perineal health in the context of women’s aesthetic desire to lose abdominal fat and weight after childbirth
Dr Yollande Sènan DJIVOH SONOUNAMETO is a physiotherapist from Benin, specialising in abdominal, pelvic and perineal rehabilitation. She was awarded a PhD in Motor Sciences from the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium in 2022. As a lecturer at the Cotonou School of Physiotherapy, she teaches several specialist modules and supervises undergraduate and postgraduate dissertations. For over a decade, she has been sought after as an expert in the basic and continuing education of physiotherapists in various countries across West and East Africa (Togo, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Mali, Cameroon, Congo). She regularly collaborates with various public institutions and private companies on staff health prevention initiatives, raising awareness of various conditions and promoting adapted physical activity.
Learning objectives
This presentation aims to clarify the impact of abdominal exercises or exercise-based retraining on the perineum in women and to provide physiotherapists with tools to enable them to best define priorities in their care approach.
Reference
- Djivoh, Y. S., Kpadonou, T., Puttemans, T., & De Jaeger, D. (2022). Diastasis recti in the Beninese population: Cross-sectional study from normal values to diagnosis. South African Journal of Physiotherapy, 78(1). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9724143/
Corlia Brandt
Beyond viral suppression: women's and pelvic health in HIV
Prof Corlia Brandt started working in private practice in 2000, whereafter she entered the academic field and obtained a Master`s and PhD degree at the University of the Free State, and an MSc in Epidemiology (Implementation Science) at the University of the Witwatersrand. Her main areas of interest are Epidemiology, Neuromusculoskeletal, Sport, Pelvic and Women`s Health, and research.
Currently she is the chair of the Pelvic Floor Rehabilitation Speciality Group of the International Urogynaecology Association (IUGA), as well as on the IUGA Africa Advisory Board; the President of the International Organisation for Physiotherapists in Pelvic and Women’s Health (World Physiotherapy), past-chair of the Professional Development Portfolio on the National Executive Committee (SASP), Past-President of the South African Sexual Health Association; and on the editorial board for the African Journal of Primary Health Care and Family Medicine, as well as the International Urogynaecology Journal.
She has published several papers in international journals and has presented at international congresses, where her research has also been nominated for awards.
She has facilitated the establishment of pelvic floor units as a collaboration between academia, researchers, and private practitioners. She is currently an associate professor at the University of the Witwatersrand – continuing her passion for integrating research, clinical practice, and teaching, developing Pelvic and Women`s Health clinics suitable for an African context, leading a global study on competencies and scope of Pelvic and Women’s Health Physiotherapy, and leading a task team of the HPCSA investigating recognition of specialisation in Physiotherapy in SA.
Learning objectives
- Understanding mechanisms linking HIV and women’s and pelvic health.
- Identify priorities for clinical practice, research, and service development.
References
- Erlandson KM, Langan S, Lake JE, Sun J, Sharma A, Adrian S, Scherzinger A, Palella F, Kingsley L, Gange SJ, Tien PC, Yin MT, Brown TT. Differences in Muscle Quantity and Quality by HIV Serostatus and Sex. J Frailty Aging. 2022;11(3):309-317. doi: 10.14283/jfa.2022.11. PMID: 35799438; PMCID: PMC9334131.
- Poton R, Polito M, Farinatti P. Effects of resistance training in HIV-infected patients: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. J Sports Sci. 2017 Dec;35(24):2380-2389. doi: 10.1080/02640414.2016.1267389. Epub 2016 Dec 21. PMID: 28001474.
- Shah S Short C, Taylor G, Lyall H, Foster C 2025 Comparison of pregnancy outcomes between people with perinatally acquired HIV, horizontally acquired HIV and those without HIV. AIDS 39:621-624 doi: 10.1097/QAD.0000000000004114
- Ukoaka, B.M., Abiodun, A.H., Daniel, F.M. et al. The burden of menstrual irregularities among women living with HIV in Nigeria: a comprehensive review. Reprod Health 21, 156 (2024). (PDF) The burden of menstrual irregularities among women living with HIV in Nigeria: a comprehensive review
Liliane Kirenga
Physiotherapy during menopause
Liliane Kirenga is a physiotherapy specialist with two decades of clinical experience treating musculoskeletal, paediatric, and women’s and pelvic health conditions. She helps patients recover from injury, manage pain, improve mobility, and enhance their long-term quality of life, and she is passionate about physical activity, health promotion, and ergonomics. Ms. Kirenga holds a Master’s in Physiotherapy from the University of the Western Cape and serves on the Rwanda Physiotherapy Organisation’s Executive Committee.
In this session, she will explore the common musculoskeletal presentations of menopause and how they affect pain and function. She will then present an evidence-informed physiotherapy framework that includes strength training, pelvic floor rehabilitation, tendinopathy management, and sleep support.
Learning objectives
Identify the main menopause-related conditions that physiotherapy can treat, and the evidence-based interventions for each
Commit to at least one concrete change in clinical practice.
Reference
- Money A, MacKenzie A, Norman G, Eost-Telling C, Harris D, McDermott J, Todd C. The impact of physical activity and exercise interventions on symptoms for women experiencing menopause: overview of reviews. BMC. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11245773/
