A Times Square takeover for millions more health workers

Rachel Maranto of Save the Children describes an incredible event that brought supporters together to raise awareness for health workers around UN Week.

How do you get a message across in the crazy buzz of the city that never sleeps? Take over Times Square, of course.

Hundreds of moms and supporters came together in New York’s iconic Times Square yesterday to create a giant human mosaic with one simple message: Health Workers Save Lives. The huge image certainly caught the attention of passers-by, but the image was even more impressive from the sky. Brian, an employee working in one of the overlooking skyscrapers, thought the mosaic looked so impressive he invited all the press photographers to his office!

As these people gathered in Times Square, a new report unveiled that more than 350 million children never see a doctor, nurse, midwife or community health worker in their lives. It’s unthinkable that any woman could give birth alone, or have no one to turn to when her child is sick. But the reality is that millions of children die every year from the most basic illnesses like diarrhea.

Yesterday I went for lunch with Joan, a midwife from Sierra Leone –- she told me the most inspiring stories of saving lives. In a country with just one-tenth of the health workers it needs, Joan really is a hero. She saves lives every day, and now trains other women to do the same. She told us of her love for her job, her joy in seeing healthy babies being delivered, and her desire for her government to ensure that all mothers in her country are within reach of a midwife. Today, Joan had the opportunity to take her message much further — she addressed the media and huge crowds in Times Square today, calling on world leaders to commit to ensuring there is a health worker within reach of every African woman and child.

We know health workers are the answer to saving mothers and children’s lives –- but the world needs 3.5 million more. The message from Times Square to the UN General Assembly is clear. World leaders need to take note -– the health worker crisis is a tragedy we must end.