Tag Archives: UNICEF

It Is Safer To Give Birth In Estonia Or Slovenia Than The United States #SOWM

It Is Safer To Give Birth In Estonia Or Slovenia Than The United States #SOWM

According to the 2014 Mother’s Index Rankings published in the Save The Children’s State of the World’s Mothers Report last week,  you are statistically safer giving birth in Slovenia, (ranked the 17th safest country in which to give birth), or Estonia (ranked the 23rd), than you are in the United States of America (which is way down the list at number 31).  In fact last week at the launch of the State of the World’s Mothers Report at the United Nations in New york City I was shocked to learn that the United States is one of the few countries where the risk to mothers in childbirth has gone up rather than down.

Global Team of 200 Member Harriet Shugarman Exec. Dir. of ClimateMama, and Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save The Children pictured here with the author at the State of the World's Mothers Report launch in NYC .

Global Team of 200 Member Harriet Shugarman, Exec. Dir. of ClimateMama, and Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save The Children pictured here with the author at the State of the World’s Mothers Report launch in NYC .

The Mothers’ Index is part of the overall annual State of the World’s Mothers Report that Save The Children has produced for the past 15 years. The  five indicators used in the index are the lifetime risk of maternal death, the under 5 year child mortality rate, the expected years of formal schooling, the gross national income per capita, and the participation of women in national government.

Credit:  Save The Children

Credit: Save The Children

To see how other countries rank you can view the entire Mothers’ Index HERE.

So why does the United States perform so poorly on the Mothers’ Index? According to the State of the World’s Mothers report :

Although the U.S. performs quite well on economic and educational status it lags behind all other top ranked countries on maternal health and children’s well-being, and performs quite poorly on political status ( the #of women in government).- Save The Children p. 74 State of the World’s Women Report

 

The lag in the United States is alarming, but this year the report specifically addresses the preventable maternal and child deaths in crisis-affected places.  The 2014 report focuses primarily on saving mothers and children, who tend to be the most vulnerable, in humanitarian crisis.  The launch event last week was co-hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the United Nations. Save The Children responded immediately with aid to the crisis in the Philippines caused by Typhoon Haiyan in 2013, as it has done in crisis areas around the world for over 90 years.   Save The Children provides health care, food, and protection to those most vulnerable in humanitarian crisis, most often the women and children. It is not surprising that all of bottom 10 countries on the Mothers’ Index are areas that have recently been in, or are currently in conflict situations, or experienced natural disaster.  Statistics in the report show that more than half of maternal and child deaths take place in these types of fragile settings.

Cover photo of the Save The Children's State of the World's Mothers Report Photo by Phil Moore

Cover photo of the Save The Children’s State of the World’s Mothers Report Photo by Phil Moore

Looking at trends so far in this century, we see how armed conflict, political instability and natural disasters have played a major role in undermining the well-being of mothers and children in the world’s poorest countries. We also see that progress is possible, even in countries suffering from devastating humanitarian crisis.- SOWM

One of the countries I was surprised to hear had made such progress was war-torn Afghanistan, which has moved up the Mothers’ Index list by 32 places. At the UN event Yasmin Haque, Deputy Director of the Office of Emergency Programmes for UNICEF noted that the key components for improvement in Afghanistan were the training of mid-wives, putting medical interventions in place for safe birth, educating girls, and immunization campaigns against vaccine preventable diseases.  Proving, as she said, that “the investment of minds and funding works”. She also noted that the recommendations coming from the State of the World’s Mothers Report are pressing.

HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan and Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save The Children

HRH Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan and Carolyn Miles, President and CEO of Save The Children

Princess Sarah Zeid of Jordan is a global champion for maternal and child health and she backed this up with the urgency of the Syrian crisis. She described things becoming so dire in the refugee camps bursting at the seams, that food rations from the World Food Program have recently been reduced by 20% per family to accommodate the influx.  Some of the Syrian mothers in these camps who were not breastfeeding their infants but using formula to feed their babies, have turned to sugar-water as a substitute as formula has become more and more scarce, and costly.

So what are the recommendations that this report says need to happen? You can read the detailed recommendations in the full SOWM report, but to give you an idea here are a few bullet points of the overall suggestions:

1. Ensure that even mothers and newborns in crisis areas have access to high quality health care. This includes ensuring at least the basic high-impact public health interventions of clean water, sanitation and vaccines. Increased number of female health care workers, and safe birth during the highest risk times of birth and the first week of life as recommended by the Every Newborn Action Plan.

2. Invest in women and girls and ensure their protection.  One component is that by educating girls and putting an end to child marriage entire communities are positively impacted. Educated girls grow up to better contribute to the economy, tend to have fewer children, and her children have better survival rates than children of uneducated mothers.

3. Build longer term resilience to minimize the damaging effects of crisis on health. Early warning systems need to be put in place. There is a need for community based disaster preparedness, response and contingency planning.  These plans should prioritize infants and children who often suffer the most in the face of disaster.

4. Design emergency interventions with a longer term view and the specific needs of mothers and newborns in mind. Prioritize maternal and newborn survival in crisis settings by ensuring access to safe birthing, medical care, and setting up specific safe spaces for them. Continue vaccines programs even during crisis.

5.Ensure adequate financing, coordination, and research to guarantee the above can be accomplished. This includes donor countries  committing to increased  long-term and reliable aid to fragile areas. Reconciling short-term disaster aid with long-term development financing, addressing gender issues, and proper data reporting.

We have the solutions to many of the issues impacting women and children around the world, stories of progress like Ethiopia and Afghanistan prove that it can be done.  The State of the World’s Mothers Report aims to highlight unmet needs, effective solutions, and recommended policy changes to that end.

global teamI was invited by Save The Children to the State of The World’s Mothers Report at the UN last week in NYC as a member of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

 

The International Day of The Girl Child 2013 #IDG2013

The International Day of The Girl Child 2013 #IDG2013
GIRL DECLARATION

Find out more about the GIRL DECLARATION by The Girl Effect HERE

Just over a year ago a school girl in Pakistan named Malala was shot by the Taliban for promoting education for girls. They did not kill her, they birthed a movement. Today the name Malala needs no explanation, she has written a book and on the second annual International Day of The Girl Child today, she met the President and First Lady of the United States of America, and spoke in a webcast live from the World Bank to millions of people around the world. Check out this blog post on ThirdEyeMom to read more about Malala’s incredible Journey and her father’s guiding role.

malala

“terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this — weakness, fear and hopelessness died, strength, power and courage was born.”-Malala

 

Today, October 11th, the world comes together to celebrate the power of the girl, to give girls a voice, and to raise them to get the education, and rights they deserve.

Me & Melinda

Me & Melinda

melinda gates @ SGSMelinda Gates and I have a lot in common. We are around the same age, both moms, both have Master’s Degrees, and married brilliant men. We left our regular jobs behind after having our children, and  directed our energy into advocacy. We both strive towards improving poverty and global health issues, but most of all,  Melinda and I are both passionate about global maternal and child health.

She recently wrote a post on the Gates Foundation blog, Impatient Optimists where she talks about how she looks forward to the UNICEF report each year.   Each year it tells us how we have improved child mortality rates in what she calls “the most important statistic in the world”.  I feel the same way. Seeing such progress gives me immense hope for what we are able to accomplish. Every incremental bit of improvement should be celebrated, because it brings us that much closer to the greater goals.IMG_9286

This year the UNICEF report is entitled Committing to Child Survival: A Promised Renewed , and it outlines what we are getting right, and what needs more focus. The celebrated fact is that the number of children dying each year has declined steadily for the past 50 years. Hundreds of thousands of lives saved, yet in some areas of the world the statistics are still alarming.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in every 10 children born still dies before their fifth birthday, nearly 16 times the average rate in high-income countries.-per this year’s UNICEF report

Children believe in promises more than anyone, especially when coming from an adult.  UNICEF has entitled this year’s report  Committing to Child Survival: A Promised Renewed to make sure we do not lose the momentum in the promises we made. While the statistics show child deaths down, they don’t tell the whole story. Newborn deaths are still high. More children die before they reach their 5th birthday than any other age range, and mostly from preventable causes.

childsurvival copyThe UNICEF Committing to Child Survival: A Promised Renewed  Report is a call to action.

Call to Action Goals from the report:

  1. Mobilize political leadership to end preventable child deaths.
  2. Achieve consensus on a global roadmap highlighting innovative and proven strategies to accelerate reductions in child mortality.
  3. Drive sustained collective action and mutual accountability.
What can you do to help ?  http://progressreport.apromiserenewed.org
To see Ethiopia’s success story in action watch this heart-warming video!

global teamI wrote this post as part of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all-powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

Human trafficking: The Crime That Shames Us All

Human trafficking: The Crime That Shames Us All

Photo By Elizabeth Atalay

I am embarrassed to admit that prostitution was legal in Rhode Island until 2009, but still I remember my disbelief when I heard about the case of four young American women being held against their will as part of a human trafficking ring in Rhode Island last year.  I was driving in my car as the news came over the radio and when they mentioned the age of the girls involved I remember looking in the rear view mirror at my two daughters in the back seat.  They were not that far off from the ages mentioned, and looking at my own daughters’ young faces my chest clenched, these were children they were talking about.  No child should ever end up in that situation. Read the rest of this entry

Mindful Giving Guide: Gifts That Give Back

Mindful Giving Guide: Gifts That Give Back

GIVE:

10 Gifts That Give Back:

1.FashionABLE  Scarves: The scarf pictured here was exclusively made for ONE by fashionABLE out of 100% light weight African cotton. The Feleku scarf was created when the ONEMoms (Including my amazing sister-in-law Jeannine Harvey) were on their recent trip to Ethiopia. ONE has partnered with FashionABLE, a company that works to create economic opportunities for women in Ethiopia by creating handmade scarves.  Each style is named after the woman that designed it and includes a tag describing what she is able to do as a result of having a job. This scarf is named after Feleku, who is now ABLE to face new challenges.

2.Lollie Beads Bracelets are created from fair trade recycled glass beads made in Uganda. So they are not only gorgeous (the glass beads look and feel like sea glass) but they are good for the environment AND help support sustainable livings in a developing country.

 

 

3.I first heard of The Anchal Project at the Rhode Island School of Design Student and Alumni Art sale where I bought a small moleskin notebook to support it.  Since then they have branched out into an incredible array of crafts including these beautiful quilts to support  their mission: “Anchal merges design, business, and education to empower marginalized and exploited women living in India.”-Anchal Mission Statement

4.These Tom’s wedges are at the top of my teenage daughter’s wish list, so you know they are cool! Tom’s keeps its designs fresh while still managing to provide shoes and glasses to those who need them. I know I’ve said this before, but I love their One for One business model (and pledge to support it with as many shoes as I can get away with!)

5.Whenever I carry my FEED bag I get compliments and inquiries about it, and I love promoting their wonderful program.  Products from

FEED Project make perfect gifts that give back, each product tells you how many kids you are feeding by purchasing it, and you can choose the product based on what efforts you wish to support.  This season I’m lusting after the DKNY collaboration Survival Tote and  NYC  hoodie sweatshirt that supports relief efforts for hurricane sandy victims.

6.Sari Bari  Sari Bari is a safe place of employment where women who have been exploited in the sex trade or who are vulnerable to trafficking can experience a new life in the making. Gorgeous Indian textiles are woven into clothing, accessories and home goods. Tee-shirts, bags and jewelry all help these women live free lives of restoration and hope.

 

Alex & Ani jewelry is a favorite gift of mine to give, not only is it made from recycled materials, locally owned and founded by a woman, but has a Charity By Design division where a percentage of proceeds from each Charity By Design bracelet goes to a specific cause.You can also customize your gift to the recipients personality or interests with their amazing selection of charm bracelets and charm necklaces.

 

 

7.1000 ShillingsUgandan Paper bead necklaces.  The women artisans earn capital for their own small businesses by making limited-edition products for 1000 Shillings. Each product sold through 1000 Shillings helps a woman establish a small business, which enables her to support her family. We also aim to tell the in-depth story behind each artisan.  The company works with six single mothers in the Namatala slum, Uganda.

 

A Gift As A Gesture:

Sometimes it is hard to find the perfect gift for someone who has every material thing they desire.  Still you want to give something as a token of your appreciation to them and the below gifts are the perfect solution that everyone can feel good about.

Photo by Elizabeth Atalay

8. Heifer International :

“Heifer International’s mission is to work with communities to end hunger and poverty and care for the Earth.  It all started with a cow.  Moved by the plight of orphans and refugees of the Spanish Civil War as he ladled out meager rations of powdered milk, Dan West, an Indiana farmer, volunteer relief worker and Church of the Brethren member, grasped that the people needed “a cow, not a cup”—cows that could produce milk so families would not have to depend on temporary aid. From that simple idea, Heifer International was born.” – From the Heifer International Website

9. Save A Life This Christmas with Maternity Worldwide :  “No mother should die while giving birth. By ordering a Safe Birth Certificate you will enable a mother in a developing country to safely give birth to her baby.  Long after the bubble bath has been used and the Christmas hampers have been eaten you will have given a lasting gift which will save a mother’s life and enable her baby to grow up with their mum.”- From the Maternity Worldwide Website

10. UNICEF Child survival Food Pack: “One amazing gift, that does it all. The Child Survival Food Pack has everything needed to save a severely malnourished child, from the time they are brought into an emergency feeding center on the brink of death, till when they are healthy again.  Therapeutic Milk and Therapeutic Food are the miracle supplies that treat severe acute malnutrition. Water Purification Tablets provide clean and safe water and prevent water-borne diseases. Multiple Micronutrient Powder and High-Energy Biscuits give a child the vitamins and minerals needed to stay healthy.  Your precious gift can bring a child back from the brink of malnutrition, with enough supplies to nurture them to good health for several months.”- UNICEFUSA.org

 

I am a proud member of The Global Team of 200, a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health. Some of the suggestions for this post came from the Global Team of 200.   Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.  Follow along with us here on Tumblr, on TwitterPinterest, and Facebook for the latest Global Team of 200 news.