The Huffington Post has joined with the Mother’s Day Every Day Campaign (led by the White Ribbon Alliance and CARE) in the global movement to call upon world leaders to invest in health workers and strengthen health systems. These are necessary to ensure that every day, everywhere in the world, all women and newborns have access to lifesaving care. Every day until Mother’s Day will feature a post from the campaign advisory committee members and global champions such as Donna Shalala, Ann Venemen, UK First Lady Sarah Brown, Liya Kebede, Theresa Shaver and Helene Gayle.

Check out the first post “Leading the Way to Make Mothers Day Every Day” by Secretary Donna Shalala and UNICEF Director Ann Veneman.

Excerpts below, full piece here

On this Mother’s Day, we celebrate the women around the world who gave us life. We appreciate the untold sacrifices they made so we could be healthy and happy. We recognize all that they have done outside our families to build better, safer and more prosperous communities, nations and world.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the resource-poor developing countries where women play a critical role in breaking the cycle of poverty.

Unfortunately, many women and their families in these parts of the world don’t have much to celebrate this Mother’s Day. The loss of life from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth continues at alarming rates.

Every minute a woman from these regions dies in pregnancy or childbirth. Last year, that totaled more than 536,000 women, leaving behind families devastated by a loss that in most cases could have been prevented. But the tragedy doesn’t stop there. Last year, more than 3.7 million newborns died, 75 percent within seven days of birth. They, too, would almost always survive, if there was access to basic health care services that we often take for granted here in the United States.

-Margaret McDonnell, US NGO Partnerships & Faith Relations Team

Learn about how you can join Ayesha and advocates around the country in asking members of Congress to cosponsor the Newborn, Child and Mother Survival Act of 2009 during Save the Children’s upcoming Advocacy Day (April 20-21) and beyond.

– Margaret McDonnell, NGO Partnerships

Ayesha is a 7th grade student from Louisville, Kentucky and she is on a mission to save newborn lives. Her journey started at the Kentucky Country Day School where she joined her classmates in crafting tiny caps to help keep newborns warm–part of Save the Children’s Survive to 5 campaign.

When she learned that more than 9 million children die each year from easily treatable and preventable causes, Ayesha decided to write a letter to President Barack Obama asking him to increase funding for health programs for newborns around the world. Ayesha wrote: “I made a hat for Save the Children because I think all babies should have the same chance to live that I have had.” Later on she was featured on her local TV news station to talk about her efforts (click here to watch the interview).

Ayesha is headed to the nation’s capitol, where she will represent Kentucky knitters and crocheters in Save the Children’s annual Advocacy Day held on April 21-22. Ayesha and her teacher, Lisa Stringfellow, are excited to share their stories with members of Congress to advocate for newborn and child health.
They will be visiting key members including Senate Minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, Senator Jim Bunning, and Representative John Yarmuth, who has visited the Kentucky school in the past and shown strong interest in child survival issues.

“I am hoping that the voices of children, like Ayesha, who care about this issue, will make a difference for legislators so they will act on behalf of children around the world,” says Stringfellow who has been to Washington in the past to attend previous Advocacy Day events. She noted: “To imagine a child not surviving due to a lack of simple interventions is heartbreaking, and my students really feel they can make a difference.”

Advocates throughout the U.S., including young students like Ayesha and celebrities like Gwenyth Paltrow, are pressing for American leadership to save the millions of children under five who die each year from preventable causes through greater investment in low-cost, highly effective, lifesaving interventions, such as vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines. They are encouraging their members of Congress to co-sponsor the Newborn, Child and Mother Survival Act of 2009 (HR 1410). To learn about how you can raise your voice to help make a difference in the lives of newborn and children around the world, click here.

-Joyce H. Newman, Senior Editor, Save the Children USA

Atlanta ONE celebrated International Women’s Day twice in one week –- once at sold-out theatres during the A Powerful Noise Live event on March 5th and again on March 11 at an event at the Mason Murer Gallery to raise awareness about women and poverty.

Atlanta ONE had a unique opportunity to team with the Enough Project and local group Dialogue for an amazing day of events to raise awareness about women and poverty around the world, and especially in the Congo. (And what better time to introduce this week’s action to support President Obama’s budget request for State and Foreign Operations than at such an event?)

Women and girls in the Congo are not only subjected to some of the most vicious acts of violence on the planet right now, but they are also being forced out of villages and into the bush, where they have little access to very basic necessities such as food, water and clothing. For many, true shelter is not even an option.

Special guest speakers included activist Candice Knezvic and Enough Project co-founder and author John Prendergast, who wrote Not on Our Watch: The Mission to end Genocide in Darfur, and Beyond, a New York Times bestseller and NAACP non-fiction book of the year co-authored with actor Don Cheadle.
(Both also spoke to students at Georgia Tech at 4:30 PM, as part of the university’s IMPACT program. The more than 200 students in attendance learned ways to take action — by spreading awareness and introducing the basics of activism – calling and writing our congresspeople! Dialogue sold “End the Silence” T-shirts, which have become a popular item among celebrity activists and the rest of us, alike!)

Stephanie Jolluck of Dialogue Start One and Atlanta ONE’s Nancy Bauer spearheaded the evening event –– called a “friendraiser” –– at the Mason Murer Gallery. Local celeb Holly Firfer emceed; Conundrums African drummers performed; a DJ spun Afro-pop; food and beverage were provided by local vendors; and everyone who walked in the door had the opportunity to learn more about ONE. Prendergast took the stage for another activism-booster and was joined by Ben Kalala of the Congolese Society of Atlanta. There was a silent auction to benefit the Enough Project, and everyone left the evening feeling empowered and ready to take action.

-Kristi York Wooten, Atlanta ONE Volunteer

The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (PMNCH) and the World Bank co-hosted a seminar last Wednesday on how to achieve MDGs 4 and 5 through strengthening health systems and increasing international and domestic financing for key maternal and child health interventions. MDG 4 calls for a two-thirds reduction in child mortality, and MDG 5 calls for a three quarters reduction in maternal mortality and increased access to reproductive health services. Countries are off-track to achieve these MDGs, and there has been almost no progress in reducing maternal mortality in Africa. Seminar participants discussed how to jump-start progress through more effective and efficient financing.

Financing for health systems has been dwarfed in recent years by financing for infectious diseases. While some progress has been made in the prevention and control of diseases like HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria, too many women and children in poor countries still die every year of diseases that are no longer issues in the wealthier world. The global community is now increasing its attention on building health systems in developing countries to maximize and sustain investments in infectious diseases and to address the root causes of poor maternal and child health.

The High-Level Task Force on Innovative International Financing for Health Systems is at the center of global efforts to estimate the resource needs to strengthen health systems and define the mechanisms that can accomplish this goal. Launched in September 2008 and co-chaired by World Bank President Robert Zoellick and UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the Task Force has among its members high-level policymakers from key donor and recipient country governments. Operating under the premise that more aid is necessary – but better aid is absolutely critical – the Task Force has two working groups estimating the global price tags and country-level costs of achieving the MDGs. A key emphasis of the ongoing work is on the right mix of innovative financing mechanisms to deliver aid more effectively and efficiently. Accountability for funding and the results it achieves is high priority for donors, recipient countries, and civil society. The Task Force will deliver the results of the working groups at the G8 meeting in July, including recommendations on the appropriate mix of financing mechanisms to strengthen health systems and ultimately improve maternal and child health outcomes.

-Lisa Fleisher

ONE rubbed elbows with some of its many partners Friday at the Global Health Council’s community meeting with Dr. Christoph Benn, the Director of Partnerships, Communication and Resource Mobilization at the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (a very lengthy title with an even longer list of responsibilities). The Global Fund is a partnership of many organizations created to increase and disburse performance-based grants to fight HIV/AIDS, TB, and Malaria, and it has helped drastically improve global health since its inception seven years ago. Nevertheless, many challenges remain. I had the opportunity to talk with Dr. Benn after the presentation, and he gladly accepted a ONE band to show his support.

Dr. Benn was proud to announce that HIV/AIDS treatment has expanded; however, prevention remains the dominant challenge. TB poses its own obstacles due to its extreme drug resistance and its complex/ expensive treatment. However, the Global Fund is beginning to see a decline in infection in Asia, though progress in Africa is slower. This may be in relation to the high prevalence of HIV in Africa; in effect weakening people’s immune systems and making them more susceptible to TB. Child mortality due to Malaria decreased 50- 70% in some countries thanks to mosquito net disbursement and increased access to affordable treatment and disease control mechanisms. We are making progress, and looking to the future, it is no secret that we are accelerating.

The demand for Global Fund grants is increasing at unprecedented levels, but with the global economic downturn tightening public budgets, the Fund is now facing critical funding gaps. As ONE members, will need to get out and make their voices heard!

-Ian McGroarty

Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times reports that Senator Barbara Boxer of California will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on International Operations and Organizations, Human Rights, Democracy, and Global Women’s Issues.

Kristof speculates that “issues like trafficking and maternal mortality and sexual violence finally seem to be getting some traction.” This is the first time a subcommittee has had the specific mandate of dealing with global women’s issues.

Excerpts from Senator Boxer’s official statement below, Kristof’s full piece here

Senator Boxer said, “I am very grateful to our new Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Senator John Kerry, for allowing me to focus part of my efforts on the worldwide status of women.”

Boxer continued, “This new subcommittee assignment offers a tremendous opportunity to shine the light of day on a very overlooked issue. Too often, we turn our eyes away as women are persecuted, abused and treated as second-class citizens. But even the most conservative historians have noted that when women are given the freedom to live up to their full potential, society as a whole flourishes. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Congress and with Secretary Clinton to stamp out violence against women in the world.”

Boxer also said she looks forward to conducting oversight of U.S. participation at the United Nations and working to promote human rights abroad.

-Chris Scott

Yesterday, UNICEF released its new State of the World’s Children report which calls for the big gap in maternal and child death rates between the developing world and industrialized countries to be addressed more aggressively. The report examines maternal mortality in developing countries and reports that too many women and children are dying of causes that could be prevented or easily treated.

In the world’s least developed countries, having a baby is among the most serious health risks for women. Every day, 1,500 women die from complications of pregnancy or childbirth – mostly in Africa and South Asia. And the younger the mother, the higher the risk: girls who have children before they turn 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20’s. While the child mortality rate in developing countries has decreased by 27% since 1995, a child born in a developing country is still 14 times more likely to die during the first month of life than a child born in a developed country. Most of these deaths are preventable. UNICEF’s Executive Director Ann Veneman states: “Progress has been made in reducing child mortality, but much more must be done especially in addressing maternal and newborn health.” Proven, cost-effective interventions exist which can save mothers’ lives and consequently, improve the chances that their children will survive too.

The barriers to bringing these interventions to the women and girls most in need are significant, but not insurmountable. The report cites weak health systems and a shortage of trained health workers as two of the biggest obstacles to reducing maternal mortality rates (and address other key health issues) in Asia and Africa. The health worker shortage is felt most acutely in Africa, which has 24% of the global disease burden but only 3% of the global health workforce. In countries where fertility rates are high and where women are not empowered to make decisions about their healthcare, these problems are compounded.

Efforts to address these problems and generate declines in maternal mortality are increasing. Just within the past five years, the number of new initiatives designed to generate new money for health systems and expand the reach of maternal and child programs have increased dramatically. Donor funding for maternal, neonatal, and child health has (more…)

Last Friday, I went to a meeting of the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) Expert Panel on Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV (PMTCT), which was created to aid the government by reviewing PMTCT activities and providing recommendations for scaled-up efforts. What could have been just another long meeting (9am-5pm), proved to be an engaging showcase of current PMTCT efforts, barriers to implementation, collaborative partners, and the science behind the treatments.

Mother-to-child transmission of HIV (during pregnancy, delivery, and breastfeeding) is responsible for well over 90% of the 700,000 new HIV infections in children around the world each year. Interventions (like antiretroviral prophylaxis) exist that can decrease the likelihood of transmission for HIV-infected mothers, who otherwise have a 35% risk of transmitting the virus to their child. However, by the end of 2007, only 31% of pregnant women infected with HIV in Southern and Eastern Africa received PMTCT treatment. One presenter observed that this failure to treat is due to lack of implementation, rather than scientific knowledge; effective technologies and medicines exist, but poor funding and capacity prevent their delivery.

Creative thinking is helping to get results. I was impressed with the innovative solutions the Panel discussed for PMTCT activities, including home visits by horseback for remote areas of Lesotho, and the utilization of existing newspaper routes in Kenya to ensure delivery of blood samples to testing centers. Through novel solutions and better funding, PMTCT coverage can, and should be, increased.

-Rena Pacheco-Theard

Last week, when Bono spoke at the California Women’s Conference, he passed along some of the startling stats (listed below) about women in Africa.

• Nearly two-thirds of adults with HIV in Africa are women young women (age 15 to 24) in South Africa accounted for around 90% of new HIV infections in 2007.
• In Africa, the likelihood of a woman dying in childbirth is 1 in 20 (compared to 1 in 2,800 in the US).
• Although up to 80% of farmers in the developing world are women, they own less than 15% of land worldwide.

You can find more facts about women in Africa, as well as inspiring facts (like the one below) about the benefits of investing in women in the developing world, in this new fact sheet.

“Investing in women is considered smart economic policy because it can often yield higher economic returns than investing in men. Providing an extra one year of education beyond the average boosts earnings by 10-20%, compared to 5-15% for males. Increasing the share of women with a secondary education by one percentage point boosts annual per capita income by 0.3% on average. A study in Kenya found that agricultural yields could be raised by as much as 20% simply by reallocating existing agricultural inputs (seeds, fertilizer, education) more equally between men and women.”

-Virginia Simmons

Government ministers and global health advocates from across the world are making their way to Almaty, Kazakhstan this week to focus on primary health care. The summit marks the 30th anniversary of the Alma-Ata Conference, which took place in the Kazakhstani city before the collapse of the USSR.

In the years since 1978, Alma-Ata has become somewhat of a hallmark and source of nostalgia in global health circles. The conference was the first of its kind to put the concept of health equity on the international agenda. Aiming to launch a campaign for health for all, attendees laid out their vision of primary health care. Identifying health as a fundamental human right, they argued that health care should not only be universal and affordable, but should be delivered in collaboration with local citizens in a way that is appropriate to the context.

These tenets were laid out in the Alma-Ata Declaration, which gave countries and international organizations a target date of 2000 for implementation.

Thirty years later the ideals of Alma Ata are far from being realized. Here at ONE, we know the stats on the global health deficit all too well: over 9 million children die before their fifth birthday every year from preventable, treatable causes; half a million mothers die every year during childbirth. While many at the time branded Alma-Ata and utopian, in retrospect its failure was more a result of unforeseen social and economic challenges that shaped the global health landscape of the 1980s and 1990s. WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, speaks to this in a recent article featured in the Lancet:

Nor could the visionary thinkers in 1978 have foreseen world events: an oil crisis, a global recession, and the introduction, by development banks, of structural adjustment programs that shifted national budgets away from the social services, including health…The emergence of HIV/AIDS, the associated resurgence of tuberculosis, and an increase in malaria cases moved the focus of international public health away from broad-based programs and towards the urgent management of high-mortality emergencies.

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