This is a touching movie which shows the devastating effect a mother’s death can have on her whole family and the well-being of her children. But it also highlights success stories showing that maternal mortality is a challenge to development which can, and should, be overcome (for more success stories check out: http://www.gatesfoundation.org/livingproofproject/Pages/default.aspx).
This clip also touches on the very important issues of adolescent pregnancies and family planning. Globally, complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19. Additionally, 85% of teenage pregnancies are not planned. Providing family planning options could save millions of lives each year - not only of mothers and their newborns, but also those of older children who are much more likely to survive and thrive if their mother is alive.
The Guttmacher Institute, a New-York based reproductive rights organization, estimates that a third of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended - that’s almost 210 million pregnancies annually. This means there over 200 million women worldwide who have an unmet need for family planning. Providing them with the means to manage their fertility as well as some basic medical assistance can save 70% of the maternal and 40% of infant lives currently lost worldwide.
Women who cannot plan their family size and space their children appropriately are much more likely to die in childbirth or as a result of an unsafe abortion (74,000 women annually). Moreover, their children are more likely to be malnourished and less educated. Providing family planning empowers women and their families and allows them to make informed choices concerning their lives.
There are numerous organization worldwide working to meet the family planning needs of women worldwide (e.g. International Planned Parenthood Federation). Sexual health clinic workers save lives on a daily basis not just by dispensing AIDS medicine (ARVs) and condoms - although they perhaps gets the most media attention. A very important part of their job is providing contraceptives such as the contraceptive jab, or diaphragm. Although not highly publicized, this is an incredibly effective and cost-efficient way of saving women’s and children’s lives. It also gives women the time, energy and resources to invest in the children they already have and even take on a job outside of the home. Some governments (e.g. the current Canadian Government) are diverting funding from proven, long-running family planning projects in the developing world and still trying to convince the public they care about maternal health. We shouldn’t let them get away with it - family planning is absolutely essential for meeting MDG5!
I don’t know about you but I wouldn’t eat “eight thousand nine billion doughnuts” if someone paid me to do it, let alone because I wanted to. But apart from that I think the message of this movie is one everyone can agree on. As this video from the White Ribbon Alliance shows, Mums matter - no two ways about it!
Although the importance of a mother is universally accepted, MGD5 is lagging behind all other Millennium Goals and there are almost 400,000 deaths annually classified as “maternal mortality,” as we've noted previously. This means that a Miami or Manchester worth of women dies every year in childbirth (most often due to obstructed labor or bleeding) or as a consequence of an illegal, unsafe abortion.
Without a mother the world can be a scary place. Especially if you’re a child. Unfortunately, according to the White Ribbon Alliance this is the fate of 2 million kids worldwide every year. That’s more orphans than people live in Luxembourg and Qatar combined! 99,5% of these kids are in developing countries where there likely aren’t procedures or institutions that can make sure they are looked after. Traditionally families would care for a mother-less child, but due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic these traditional care-takers may no longer be alive or well enough to care for a child.
As Jill Sheffield, the President of Women Deliver, said “The biggest enemy of women’s health and rights is political indifference”. Even though we know how to effectively lower maternal mortality, taking action on preventing mums dying has never been high on politicians’ priority list.
The thing is, a little investment can go a long way. At least 80% of maternal deaths could be averted for US$24 billion. That may seem like a lot of money but to put things in perspective President Obama spent US$25 billion bailing out the automobile industry. Americans annually spend US$14 billion on Mother’s Day merchandise - that’s US$2 billion more than the current (inadequate) global spending on maternal health!
Statistically, every person contributes only US$2.50 annually to making sure women don’t die in childbirth. By making even a small donation to an organization that works to save mothers you can double your per capita impact!
In the worlds of Melinda Gates - “every birth is a cause for joy that holds promise of a better future” and we can work to make sure that nowhere is it regularly a life-threatening condition.
Looking back, I was about 12 or 13 when I started becoming aware of the world. I started to realise that not all countries offered its people the same things; the world seemed enormous and riddled with challenges. What could I possibly do?
The Year 7 students at Laval Junior High in Canada have an idea. Back in October 2009 they started a project called Learners without Borders, supported by Social Studies teacher Angela Kallianiotis,
Initially, it was just about establishing a connection with students of a similar age in a very different part of the world – the Futures Leaders School in Uganda. But, it soon became more than that, as students realised how much they had in common.‘We are human beings with the same feelings and needs.’ said one student, Christos.
As the emails went back and forth, the kids at Laval were increasingly saddened by what they learned. ‘I was surprised to learn children our age get taken away by the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) to fight in a useless war...’ said Tina Zouboulakis.
So, they decided to do something about it. The kids began fundraising in order to improve the lives of their new friends; one the highlights was enabling them to have a Christmas party. However, it didn’t seem enough.
After some brainstorming, they hit upon an idea that would allow the community in Uganda to not simply rely on isolated fundraising events, but support themselves through creativity. Arrangements were made for an instructor to come into Future Leaders School and teach the pupils how to make jewelry from recycled paper.
Kajjansi beads were born.
Once the Kajjansi beads are finished, they are shipped to Canada, where the Laval students promote and sell them.
The project, dubbed ‘Helping Hands’ has been an enormous success. As one of the students testified, ‘...in less than two months we sold $8000 worth of products.’ Now, this small Ugandan community has a sustainable income, and local women have become involved; for the first time in their lives, they are earning a wage.
Head of Future Leaders School, Pastor Hosea, speaks happily of the difference Learners Without Borders has made - ‘Music, dance and drama have been introduced in our school...’ His students are equally grateful for the difference it has made, expressing hope the partnership will continue.
The students are increasingly aware that they are not just national, but global citizens. Engaging in a business partnership like this promotes a level of equality and respect that is all too often absent in fundraising events.
The kids at Laval are a step ahead. They realise that you do not have to travel to somewhere like Uganda to feel affected by what happens there, or to do something about it. With modern tools like the internet for quick effortless communication, distance is not an excuse.
“Who said children couldn’t do anything? Who said adults are the only ones able to control the situation? “ Veronica Mongiardo and her peers are right to be indignant, because they know exactly how much young people can achieve when given the opportunity.
I’ve been starting to notice one of the more striking things about the campaigns surrounding the Millennium Development Goals; and that is, the emphasis on preventable deaths with simple solutions. Fighting poverty as a whole is a multi faceted task, but when you break it down into the eight millennium development goals, and then break those down further into small grassroots operations, you can see how many of the solutions to big problems are, and must be, simpler than you might imagine.
This video and accompanying background brief from Save the Children, offers an open, frank analysis of the situation regarding child mortality (MDG4). Almost 9 million children under the age of 5 die every year, and yes it is beyond shocking that this occurs, because they are preventable deaths.
In the UK, when a child dies in a hospital or because they had to be put on a waiting list for treatment, or simply couldn’t afford it, we are scandalized by the incompetence of the system. The media then berates the government for operating an ill funded system that has become complacent in saving lives.
The outrage comes from the value we place on every child’s life, and the fear that if your child should fall ill, they could be subjected to the same treatment. It is not the fault of one individual, but a failure of the system. If the treatment exists, then it should be readily available, particularly to children, because their welfare is our collective responsibility.
Save the Children outlines five elements to tackle child mortality, all of which need to be addressed at the MDG summit in September. Each country needs a national plan that is viable, and includes proven treatments for common problems like diarrhea. Most people in the UK have travelled abroad at some point and understand that diarrhea can be deadly if it is chronic or if you cannot rehydrate.
We also need to focus on nutrition. Again, the emphasis is on preventable deaths. There is enough food to go around, and so all the children who are dying of starvation are a consequence of poorly distributed resources. It is due to gender inequality in some cases. Girls are in certain cultures are more likely to be deprived of food, in order to feed the men in the family. This is something world leaders must address.
The fourth element that will improve child mortality, is holding governments to account for the systems in place. It is often because of corruption that food is unequally distributed. If we check the government, the government will be forced to check the systems. Which of course, costs money, but if leaders in the Global North give the money they initially pledged, this will not be a difficulty.
It is not a scientific miracle that is needed. We already know how to cure tuberculosis, we know how to treat malaria. The solutions just need to be better coordinated so that they reach the people who need it.
It is heartbreaking to hear of the death of a child, not only because it is someone’s son, daughter, brother or sister, but because they are innocent. They are entangled in a world of bureaucracy and systems before they can speak, and they die because of the consequences of policy failure. There is so much capacity to fix this, it simply needs to become a priority, to leaders, and to us normal folk.
Working with Incitro, a boutique graphic design and branding agency who designed the book, along with photo editor Mike Franklin, each 13.25 X 9.5 inch 200 page volume gives a fantastic glimpse into the daily lives of the Haitian people. Move through the streets of Port-au-Prince after a rainstorm, sail to the island of Tortuga, walk through the fields of Furcy and gaze into the eyes of these extraordinary people. More about the book: http://haiti-book.com/
This is a rare opportunity since this first print run is of limited quantity and will surely have tremendous long-term value.
Before the magnitude 7.0 earthquake on Tuesday, January 12, 2010 that would claim more than 250,000 lives; life in Haiti was a daily struggle for survival. Two and a half years prior to this tragedy, photographer and activist Don Mirra was in Haiti documenting the lives of the Haitian people through the lens of his camera. Telling the story in photos of the day to day existence of the Haitian people, whose plight was rarely seen prior to the havoc wreaked on the country by the January 12th earthquake. More about Don Mirra: http://www.donmirra.com/
The media buzz has died down and the news crews have left Haiti. The 24 hour news cycle has left behind the people of Haiti and their continued suffering. Can we really continue to ignore the conditions under which the Haitian people live in every day? The conditions today are worse then then just before the quake. Tents are the day to day living conditions of over a quarter million people. These exceptional people have unparalleled resilience to change, that said, they still lack basic human living conditions.
Looking back, I was about 12 or 13 when I started becoming aware of the world. I started to realise that not all countries offered its people the same things; the world seemed enormous and riddled with challenges. What could I possibly do?
The kids at Laval are a step ahead. They realise that you do not have to travel to somewhere like Uganda to feel affected by what happens there, or to do something about it. With modern tools like the internet for quick effortless communication, distance is not an excuse..jpg)
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