The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA) is a nonpartisan, non-profit and non-governmental membership organization that aims to decrease maternal and newborn death globally.

Every minute somewhere in the world a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth. 99% of these deaths occur in developing countries. Almost all can be prevented. The WRA is raising awareness of this shameful injustice and demanding political priority to end the needless deaths of women and newborns around the world.

Mission statement

The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood is a grassroots movement that builds alliances, strengthens capacity, influences policies, harnesses resources, and inspires action to save the lives of women and newborns around the world.

Overview

The White Ribbon Alliance for Safe Motherhood (WRA) is an international coalition of individuals and organizations formed to promote increased public awareness of the need to make pregnancy and childbirth safe for all women and newborns in developing, as well as, developed countries. Membership is free, and anyone can join by registering through the WRA website. The WRA began in 1999 through the efforts of a group of individuals and organizations committed to raising awareness of the over 500,000 needless deaths each year due to pregnancy and childbirth complications. The WRA’s advocacy efforts grew from 1999 to 2009 into a global movement with thousands of individual and organization members in over 100 countries.

National Alliances

The WRA’s successful model centers on uniting stakeholders for safe motherhood through the support of national, regional, and global alliances. The Alliance members truly represent a “global community” of local, national, and international NGOs, medical practitioners, community and faith based organizations, UN organizations, government representatives, academics, and individuals.

National Alliances are coalitions and partnerships in respective countries that develop a common platform of action at community, district, and national levels. Each National Alliance prioritizes its focus locally and has a local governance structure, but all share the common goal of improving access, quality, and utilization of maternal and newborn health services. National Alliances have successfully changed policies, increased funding allocation, and increased demand for services. Since 1999, the WRA has expanded to currently include 13 National Affiliates established in Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia.

Initiatives of the Global Secretariat

Mothers Day Every Day: The Campaign for Healthy Moms and Newborns: A US-based campaign launched February 27, 2009 and sponsored by The White Ribbon Alliance and CARE

CARE (relief)

CARE is a broad-spectrum secular relief, humanitarian, and development non-governmental organization fighting global poverty. It is non-political, non-sectarian and operates annually in more than 70 countries across the globe.One of the organization’s primary focuses in its fight to eradicate...

 calling for greater U.S. leadership to accelerate progress toward safe and healthy pregnancy and childbirth globally. Many influential leaders are members of the Mothers Day Every Day Advisory Committee such as co-chair Donna Shalala

Donna Shalala

Donna Edna Shalala served for eight years as Secretary of Health and Human Services under President Bill Clinton and has been president of the University of Miami, a private university in Coral Gables, Florida, since 2001. She was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest...

, president of the University of Miami and former Secretary of U.S. Health and Human Services; co-chair Ann M. Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF; Maria Cino

Maria Cino

Maria Cino is an American politician. Beginning March 2007 she was Chief Executive Officer of the Committee of Arrangements , which organized the 2008 Republican National Convention.-United States Department of Transportation:...

, former Deputy Secretary of the United States Department of Transportation; and Mark R. Dybul

Mark R. Dybul

Ambassador Mark R. Dybul served as the United States Global AIDS Coordinator, leading the implementation of the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief during the presidency of George W. Bush.-Biography:...

, co-director and distinguished scholar at the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and former United States Global AIDS Coordinator.

Million Mums: This campaign launched on the 22nd of March 2009, Mother’s Day in the UK, to raise awareness about maternal death globally. The campaign has two simple aims: To sign up a million people and raise a million pounds to prevent women from dying in pregnancy and childbirth. The campaign has high profile support from Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown (spouse)

Sarah Brown is the wife of Gordon Brown, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She is also the founding partner of Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications, a public relations company.-Early life:...

 and from a host of celebrities including Davina McCall

Davina McCall

Davina McCall is an English television presenter and actress, most notable as the presenter of the UK version of Big Brother up until its move to Channel 5.- Early life :...

, Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...

, Claudia Winkleman

Claudia Winkleman

Claudia Anne I. Winkleman is an English television presenter, film critic, radio personality and journalist.- Early life and family :...

, Eve Pollard

Eve Pollard

Evelyn "Eve" Pollard, Lady Lloyd, OBE is an English author, journalist and a former editor of several tabloid newspapers.-Career:...

, Kirsty Young

Kirsty Young

Kirsty Jackson Young is a Scottish television presenter and radio presenter. She is the main presenter of Crimewatch and Desert Island Discs. She is married to millionaire club owner Nick Jones.- Career :...

, Helena Christensen

Helena Christensen

Helena Christensen is a Danish fashion model, Victoria's Secret Angel, beauty queen, and photographer. She has also served as creative director for Nylon magazine, designed clothing, and supported funding for breast cancer organizations and other charities.-Early life:Christensen was born in...

, Lauren Laverne

Lauren Laverne

Lauren Cecilia Fisher , known professionally as Lauren Laverne, is an English radio DJ, television presenter, author and singer...

, Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup

Mariella Frostrup is a Norwegian-born journalist and television presenter, well known on British TV and radio, mainly for arts programmes. Her 'gravelly' voice was once voted the sexiest female voice on TV, and research to find 'the perfect voice' has indicated that Frostrup's voice is one of the...

, Meera Syal

Meera Syal

Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...

, Myleene Klass

Myleene Klass

Myleene Angela Quinn is an English singer, pianist, media personality and occasional model. She was formerly a member of the defunct British pop band Hear'Say.-Early life:...

, Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...

, and Bill Nighy

Bill Nighy

William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...

. The Duchess also designed a special pin for the campaign available to the first 25,000 people that donate.

Global Maternal Mortality Campaign: Stemming from the progress and commitments of 2008, the 2009 Global Maternal Mortality Campaign is maintaining momentum and maximizing delivery on the promises made towards safe motherhood on a global, national and community level. This campaign’s objectives are:

• Establish a major new innovative financing

Innovative financing

Innovative financing refers to a range of non-traditional mechanisms to raise additional funds for development aid through "innovative" projects such as micro-contributions, taxes, public-private partnerships and market-based financial transactions....

 mechanism to fund health systems.

• 20 countries to have financed health plans in place by 2010, to meet the WHO recommended levels of 2.3 workers per 1,000 people by 2015.

• Appointment by the UN Secretary General of someone on Maternal Mortality.

• Appoint national champions to mobilize action at a national level.

• Agree on, and develop delivery plans for, a small number of high impact interventions (via the ongoing meetings amongst various groups and with regular circulated materials to all campaigning partners).

• Ensure maternal mortality is recognized as a key indicator of a functioning health system.

WRA Supporters

The tragedy of maternal death has attracted the attention of numerous prominent individuals around the world who have committed to speaking out for this cause. The WRA is supported by First Ladies, celebrities, and other influential individuals around the world including the WRA’s Global Patron Sarah Brown

Sarah Brown (spouse)

Sarah Brown is the wife of Gordon Brown, a former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She is also the founding partner of Hobsbawm Macaulay Communications, a public relations company.-Early life:...

, wife of UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown

James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...

, and the WRA's Global Ambassador, Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell

Naomi Campbell is a British model. Scouted at the age of 15, she established herself among the top three most recognisable and in-demand models of the late 1980s and early 1990s, and she was one of six models of her generation declared "supermodels" by the fashion world...

. Thousands of WRA supporters, including Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow is an American actress and singer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Se7en and Emma...

, Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson

Emma Thompson is a British actress, comedian and screenwriter. Her first major film role was in the 1989 romantic comedy The Tall Guy. In 1992, Thompson won multiple acting awards, including an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress, for her performance in the British drama Howards End...

, Judi Dench

Judi Dench

Dame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...

 and Claudia Schiffer

Claudia Schiffer

Claudia Schiffer is a German model and occasional actress, who reached the peak of her popularity during the 1990s, initially due to her resemblance to Brigitte Bardot. Schiffer is one of the world's most successful models, having appeared on over 500 magazine covers...

, have added their name to an open letter to global leaders asking them to make the necessary changes to save mothers' lives.
Other WRA supporters include Queen Rania of Jordan; Bill Nighy

Bill Nighy

William Francis "Bill" Nighy is an English actor and comedian. He worked in theatre and television before his first cinema role in 1981, and made his name in television with The Men's Room in 1991, in which he played the womanizer Prof...

; Christy Turlington Burns; Tammy Haddad; Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah, Duchess of York is a British charity patron, spokesperson, writer, film producer, television personality and former member of the British Royal Family. She is the former wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, whom she married from 1986 to 1996...

; Wendi Murdoch; Star Thomas; Djata Ilebou; Emma Freud

Emma Freud

Emma Vallencey Freud OBE is an English broadcaster and cultural commentator.-Early life:Emma Freud was born on 25 January 1962 and is the daughter of politician and broadcaster Sir Clement Freud and June Flewett. She is the great-granddaughter of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud...

; Diana Quick

Diana Quick

-Life:Quick was born in London, England. She grew up in Dartford, Kent, the third of a dentist's four children. She was educated at Dartford Grammar School for Girls, Kent. She was greatly aided by her English teacher, Miss Davis, who encouraged her to pursue acting...

; Anna Chancellor

Anna Chancellor

-Family:Chancellor was born in Richmond, London, England, the daughter of the Hon. Mary Alice Jolliffe and John Paget Chancellor. Through her mother's mother, Lady Perdita Rose Mary Asquith, Chancellor is the great-granddaughter of The Hon. Raymond Aquith and the great-great-granddaughter of Prime...

; The Sugababes; Maya Masai; Takuma Sato

Takuma Sato

is a Japanese automobile racing driver and the most successful Japanese Formula One driver in history. He is currently racing for KV Racing Technology in IndyCar Series under the Lotus banner.-Junior Years:...

; and many more ambassadors in WRA National Alliances worldwide.

External links

• http://www.whiteribbonalliance.org
• http://www.mothersdayeveryday.org/
• http://www.millionmums.org
• http://www.twitter.com/WRAGLOBAL
• http://www.myspace.com/whiteribbonalliance
• http://www.youtube.com/whiteribbonalliance