Working Together to Expand Access to Women’s Healthcare
Women's Healthcare on the Move (WHOM) was founded in 2022 by Dr. Kathryn Bergen, a board-certified family physician from the United States, and Catherine McMenamin, an Advanced Clinical Practitioner from the United Kingdom.
The two met while working in Greece in 2020 for Medical Volunteers International (now Medical Solidarity International), where they witnessed the barriers refugee and migrant women face in accessing healthcare. Together, they founded WHOM to improve access to women's healthcare through community education, outreach, referral support, and collaboration with local partners.
Today, WHOM continues to work closely with MSI and a growing network of community organizations across Athens.
We believe access to healthcare is a fundamental right that does not disappear when a woman is forced to flee. Our mission is to advance equitable access to women's healthcare for those who have been displaced: meeting women where they are, in their own languages, and treating their health, dignity, and autonomy as non-negotiable.
Displacement disrupts lives, but it does not pause biology.
Women who have left everything behind still need contraception, prenatal care, cervical cancer screening, and care after violence. Yet displacement often disrupts the systems that provide this care. Language barriers, unfamiliar healthcare systems, financial hardship and lack of documentation leave many women without access to essential services.
We founded WHOM after witnessing this gap first-hand in Greece. We believe a woman's access to healthcare should never depend on her paperwork, her language, or the funding cycle of the nearest organisation.
We work alongside local and international partners to reach women who are otherwise missed:
Community-based health education
Delivering practical, evidence-based information in trusted community settings so women can make informed decisions about their health.
Needs assessment
Listening to women and documenting healthcare barriers so our programmes and advocacy remain grounded in evidence.
Referral and navigation
Connecting women with trusted healthcare providers and helping them navigate unfamiliar health systems.
Advocacy
Using what we learn from the communities we serve to improve healthcare access for displaced women.
Our approach
We believe lasting change happens through partnership.
Rather than creating parallel healthcare systems, WHOM works alongside local organizations to strengthen existing services, improve health literacy, identify unmet needs and help women navigate care. This collaborative model allows us to respond to community needs while supporting more sustainable access to healthcare.
We work with women in vulnerable circumstances, and that places real obligations on us, including to the women we serve, to our partners, and to those who support our work. WHOM is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our programmes are delivered in Athens, Greece in partnership with local and international organizations.
Learn more about our governance, safeguarding policies and financial accountability.
WHOM is led by a multidisciplinary team with backgrounds in medicine, public health, refugee health and community engagement. Together, we work across Greece, the United States and the United Kingdom to expand access to women's healthcare for displaced women.
Medical Director
Family Medicine Physician
MSc, International Affairs
Kate is a board-certified Family Medicine Physician whose commitment to health equity grew from her human rights work with Amnesty International's Individuals at Risk program. She has provided care in challenging settings, from refugee camps in Greece to communities affected by conflict in Ukraine, and focused on maternal-child health among migrant communities in Rhode Island. She currently works as a Hospitalist in Salinas, California, while pursuing certification in Global Health and Tropical Medicine. Kate is dedicated to empowering women to make informed health decisions and to building a more equitable world.
Clinical Services Director
MSc (c), BSc, HCPC, CIPD
Cat is a dual-qualified professional from Northern Ireland, combining more than 15 years of senior HR leadership in the non-profit sector with expertise as an Advanced Paramedic. Her career spans global HR transformation in large-scale non-profits and the coordination of medical programmes in challenging environments. Cat is driven by a commitment to equitable healthcare access and patient empowerment across diverse settings.
Programme Coordinator
Originally from Egypt, Iman studied English literature and translation and holds a diploma in legal translation, and has worked as a consecutive interpreter and cultural mediator. Since moving to Greece, she has brought her skills in translation, cultural mediation, and problem-solving to WHOM, supporting patient communication, coordinating between our partner organisations and the women who need care, managing clinic scheduling, and leading much of our day-to-day communications. Iman is the link that keeps WHOM connected to the women we serve throughout the year.
WHOM has been fortunate to work with talented and dedicated interns who have contributed enormously to our mission. We are grateful for their time, energy, and commitment to women's healthcare.
Raphaëlle holds a Master's degree in Public Health focused on the social determinants of health and equitable access to care. During her time with WHOM, she strengthened our social media presence, researched the cost and availability of sanitary products in Greece to highlight the everyday financial barriers women face, and supported patient outreach and referral coordination in clinic.
Ellen volunteered with WHOM during her studies at the University of Sussex, bringing academic grounding in international development alongside a hands-on commitment to women's health. In Athens, she worked with local pharmacies to develop a multilingual resource on emergency contraception and the contraceptive pill, and helped establish referral pathways connecting women to diagnostic testing and secondary care. Both projects continue to benefit the women WHOM serves.
Interested in interning with WHOM? Get in touch at info@whom.international