At least one woman will die while pregnant or during childbirth in the time that it will take you to read this story. And many more children—one every 20 seconds—will die of a vaccine-preventable disease.
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These tragic and often preventable statistics are among those cited by ABC News and the United Nations Foundation, which teamed up and kicked off the Million Moms Challenge this week.
The campaign is based on the premise that “every mother in the world wants the same thing: a healthy pregnancy, a safe birth, and a baby who will survive and thrive. But for millions of moms and babies in developing countries these basic human rights are out of reach.” Already, many other organizations, including ONE, CARE, UNICEF, and Save the Children, have joined the challenge.
You can too, as the goal is to get people, not just moms, to help moms in developing countries, including Guatemala, where malnutrition is a huge problem leading to many childhood deaths.
Throughout the campaign, ABC News will feature stories (on television and across all of its digital platforms) about pregnancy, childbirth, and children’s health from around the globe. It will also look at solutions and programs that are making a difference. The Million Moms Challenge is part of the year-long global health series “Be the Change: Save a Life,” which is sponsored in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
The Million Moms Challenge website also features blog posts from mom bloggers, including many Latina mom bloggers, as well as video posts in real time with midwives and mothers in the developing world.
And for you gamer moms, the campaign also launched 1000 Days a new Facebook game, which is described as an educational alternative to Farmville about all things maternal health. You can find out more here.
You can follow @AMillionMoms on Twitter and use the hashtag #AMillionMoms. You can also like Million Moms on Facebook at facebook.com/millionmomschallenge.
Take the challenge! It’s never been easier or more inspiring to see moms helping moms.
