“Every minute of every day, a woman somewhere on the planet dies and thirty other women suffer long-lasting injury or illness from preventable pregnancy-related causes and complications.”   This is just one of many stunning statistics to come out of the recent “Women Deliver gathering in Washington, D.C., where more than 3,500 delegates from over 146 countries came together to discuss a shared agenda focused on the reduction of mortality rates among women, newborns, and infants.”

“Women are, in fact, the key to the health and prosperity of the global community. And without a redoubled commitment to reducing the social, economic, and health disparities that far too many women experience in every aspect of their lives, the fate of nations on every continent is at risk.”

We thank Michael Seltzer for this eye-popping article. Check it out in its entirety at PHILANTOPIC the editorial blog at Philanthropy News Digest.

http://pndblog.typepad.com/pndblog/2010/06/global-womens-health-movement.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+typepad%2Fphilantopic+%28PhilanTopic%29

It is with great enthusiasm that Jill brings her experience to the Tia Foundation.  While working in Ecuador on an Economic Development project in 2006, Jill came to internalize the lessons of “teaching a man to fish” and enabling people to manifest their own change by giving them the tools and knowledge to do so.

Jill ‘s professional experience includes financial analysis, small business and personal finance as well as having served countless tables!  It is serving and providing for basic needs, economic development and private-public partnerships that will drive Jill’s job search upon graduation in January 2011.

A new study published recently by Save the Children reconfirms the need for skilled health workers in communities in the developing world.

“The problems around maternal and newborn health have been raised for many years, but there still remains so much to be done,” Houleyemata Diarra, Save the Children’s newborn health regional adviser for Africa, told IRIN (United Nations’ Integrated Regional Information Network) from Mali. “There are not enough skilled attendants at births, and governments are not taking into account where health workers are needed – in communities.”

Save the Children is calling on governments and donors to prioritize building up a workforce of female health workers to serve in their communities and local clinics.

It costs a lot to train a doctor or run a hospital, but the cost of giving community health workers basic training – to diagnose and treat common early childhood illnesses, organize vaccinations and promote good nutrition and newborn care – does not have to be exorbitant, says Save the Children.

In Bangladesh the NGO found that providing female community health-workers with  training and education caused infant mortality rates in affected areas to drop by a third.

“There are a lot of models of this working well around the world,” said Save the Children’s Diarra.

Thank you to IRIN News, UNIFEM and Save the Children for this report!

Save money and make mom proud this Mother’s Day by buying her gift on GoodShop and supporting a cause she would truly care about by choosing the Tia Foundation as your charity!

Many of GoodShop’s 1,400 merchants are posting special coupons on their site for your Mother’s Day purchases.  And in many cases they’ve increased the amount that they’ll donate to us.

Here are just a few examples (please spread the word!)…

1-800FLOWERS Save 10% on your purchase with promo code! (+7% donation to Tia!)

Godiva Chocolatier Free Standard Shipping on orders $50 or more (+3% donation to Tia!)

macy’s Friends & Family Event: Save 25% (10% electronics) with Promo Code (+1.5%-2.5% donation to Tia!)

There are so many more participating merchants so check them out and make your mom proud.  You can print Tia’s brochure to tell your mom how her gift will also help provide health care for a poor family in Mexico!

Apple Store, Best Buy, Amazon, Crate and Barrel, Harry and David, Kohls, PetSmart, Sephora, Target and many other retailers participate.