Celebrating Mother’s Day through the Stand Up for African Mothers Campaign
More than 200,000 women in Africa die each year during pregnancy and childbirth due to lack of basic medical care. One trained midwife can provide care to 500 women every year.
New York, 13 May, 2012 – As most of the world celebrates Mother’s Day, AMREF is targeting to train 15,000 midwives by 2015 and contribute towards reduction of maternal mortality by 25 percent. AMREF’s Stand Up for African Mothers global campaign aims to mobilize the public across the world to help train more midwives in Africa, giving mothers and babies a chance at life. Simple, affordable training saves lives and ensures that having a baby is a time of joy.
“As we mark Mother’s Day, let us celebrate the dedication and humanitarian work of midwives across the world and especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where basic medical care for pregnant women is dangerously scarce,” says Teguest Guerma, Director General, AMREF, the largest international health NGO in Africa. “We launched Stand Up for African Mothers with the strong belief that together we can reduce maternal mortality in Africa by simply training and funding more African midwives.”
The Stand Up for African Mothers campaign has one simple goal: train 15,000 midwives by 2015 and contribute to reducing maternal deaths in Africa by 25 percent. Once trained, a single midwife can provide care to 500 women every year, including the safe delivery of 100 babies.
Ways to Stand Up for African Mothers
- Make a donation and personally contribute to the training, funding and equipment needed to help reduce maternal mortality in Africa.
- Sponsor the training of a midwife who will care for 500 African women each year.
- Spread the word about Stand Up for African Mothers through social networks and encourage friends, family and colleagues to take action.
Global Campaign Supporters
The global patron of Stand Up for African Mothers is Graça Machel, Mozambican politician, humanitarian and international advocate for women’s and children’s rights. “I am thrilled to be part of this very important initiative, which contributes to the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of reducing the maternal mortality in Africa. Of all the goals, this one is the most shamelessly lagging behind,” says Machel, wife of former South African President Nelson Mandela. “Let’s work together to reverse the situation and make childbirth a matter of joy.”
The campaign is supported by the Women’s Forum, a global platform for influential women, and top model, actress and philanthropist, Ethiopian national, Liya Kebede. Communication agencies JCDecaux, Edelman, and ZumGoldenenHirschen are offering pro bono support to help further spread the word.
Stand Up for African Mothers. Because no child should be left an orphan and no mother should have to die to give life!
About AMREF
The African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) is an international African not-for-profit organization headquartered in Nairobi. Founded in 1957 as the Flying Doctors of East Africa to provide critical health care to remote communities in East Africa, AMREF has since grown to become the main African-based international organization working in health development. It works side by side with communities to build the knowledge, skills and means to transform their health, laying foundations that will be felt for generations to come. AMREF currently implements more than 140 programs and projects. In the past 55 years, AMREF has trained over 500,000 health workers.
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Contact:
Bernhard Bauer, Director of Individual Giving and Communications
Office: 212.768.2440
Mobile: 917.514.5659
bauer@amrefusa.org
AMREF
4 West 43rd Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10036
