1. TIME Person of the Year Runner Up: Our collective support for Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl shot in the head by the Taliban for standing up for girls’ education, resulted in Malala being selected as TIME Magazine’s Runner Up Person of the Year.
2. Girls Rights and Education: Catalyzed by Malala’s courageous example, 2012 was a critical year for the rights of girls to get more access to education and draw closer to ending child marriage. You can get involved in 2013 with groups like GirlUp, and Women Deliver’s Catapult crowd fundraising platform that focuses all of its projects on the needs of girls and women.
3. 5 Million Actions for Maternal Health: Every Mother Counts set out at the beginning of this year to reach a target of 5 million actions for maternal health over the next 3 years. Whether running a marathon, writing a blog post, attending conferences, purchasing a CD, or a new partnership, all these collective actions have just one intention—to raise awareness and action for improved maternal health around the world. We’re proud to share that Every Mother Counts crushed their goal in its first year—with 5.2 million actions taken in 2012! Read more and download the impact report here.
4. Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA): MAMA is engaging an innovative global community to deliver vital health information to new and expectant mothers through mobile phones. MAMA was launched by founding partners: United States Agency for International Development and Johnson & Johnson with supporting partners – the United Nations Foundation, mHealth Alliance, and BabyCenter. They’ve just announced a new initiative in Bangladesh that will reach over 2 million mothers!
5. Major Push to End Polio: With only 214 cases of polio reported in 2012 (as of Dec 19), compared to 650 cases in 2011, we are closer than ever to wiping the disease from the globe. In September during the United Nations General Assembly, a High Level Event on Polio Eradication was held with promises made by the countries and organizations including, the Gates Foundation, Rotary International, UNICEF and Heads of State from Pakistan, Nigeria and Afghanistan—the three remaining polio endemic countries. We were honored to be observers to this historic event. In April of 2013, Global Polio Eradication Initiative partners will host a pledging conference in the hopes of raising much of the needed funds to finish eradication efforts by 2018. Learn more and join the fight with [email protected].
6. Anne Geddes Photo Shoot: Allison Dearstyne’s once in a lifetime photo shoot with renowned photographer Anne Geddes, helped raise awareness for women and babies all around the world. ABC’s Good Morning America featured the story, sharing the impact of the contest and it’s reach around the world to connect mothers everywhere.
7. African Women Heads of State: As Heads of State gathered from all parts of the globe for the United Nations General Assembly earlier this year, a very special breakfast meeting occurred. Africa’s first two female leaders met together to discuss politics, gender and progress for women with United Nations Foundation CEO, Kathy Kalvin. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and President Joyce Banda of Malawi painted a picture of a new Africa with men and women truly partnering in all facets of life, business and government.
8. Hyperemesis Gravidum (HG) and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge: The sudden admission of the Duchess of Cambridge to hospital suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidum or (HG) was a rallying cry to correct inaccurate media coverage of this little known issue. Characterized by extreme morning sickness, weight loss and nutritional depravation for pregnant women, this misunderstood condition for mothers all over the world has gained new attention and awareness through the Duchess’ plight. “Like” the Hyperemesis Education and Research Foundation page to learn more.
9. White Ribbon Alliance’s Wake Up Breakfast with Donna Karan, Arianna Huffington and Sarah Brown: The White Ribbon Alliance came to New York for the United Nations General Assembly to call on world leaders to support mothers and children and prevent needless deaths during childbirth. Citizen advocates David Lyamuya from Tanzania and Renuka Motihar from India report. View here.
Sarah Brown reminded us all to pat ourselves on the back at all that has been done to improve maternal health, and to keep applying the necessary pressure because there is still so much to be done to save women’s lives.
10. Half the Sky Documentary: Authors Nick Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn took their book, Half the Sky, and created a documentary that aired over 4 hours and two nights on PBS. Dropping six actresses into different locations and pairing them with local “game changers”, the film brought energy and star power to women and girls’ education, maternal health and safety. With record viewership numbers for this genre of documentary, it also brought audiences in unprecedented numbers and our community was a part of that. You can learn more about the Half the Sky movement and purchase the film.
11. Blogust [email protected] Relay for Good:
- 31 days in August.
- 31 bloggers.
- 10,000 comments.
- $200,000 for life-saving vaccines.
You commented daily, sometimes multiple times a day. You read and shared countless blog posts. With each comment being matched by $20 up to a maximum of $200,000, you helped vaccinate 10,000 children against pneumonia, diarrhea, polio and measles. Make sure you “like” [email protected] to see what 2013 has in store for this extraordinary campaign!
12. YOU: Every blog post you read, like and share with your own friends and family raises someone’s awareness about the global health challenges faced by mothers all over the world. Every tweet, every status update that includes something from the Million Moms Challenge helps us to get the word out. And motivates and inspires others to action.
As we begin a new year, we are most grateful for you, the Million Moms Challenge community. You don’t need to be a mom to help a mom. You just need to be one in a million.