Millennium Development Goal #5
Improve Maternal Health
"Then Jesus said to the disciple,
'Here is your mother.'
And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home."
- John 19:27
The Prayer Let us pray for the health of women, children and families around the world, especially for an end to maternal and child mortality, that in building healthy families, all God's people may be empowered to strengthen their communities and repair the breaches which divid nations and peoples.
Almighty and ever-living God, giver of life and love, and Sanctifier of all families: Protect the health and safety of all women in childbirth and the children whom they bear, and inspire your people to work for an end to the deadly conditions which fuel maternal and child mortality throughout the world; that, in building strong and healthy families and communities, all may be strengthened to do your will on earth until the day when you gather us into one heavenly family. God of love, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
Let us pray for the health of women, children and families around the world, especially for an end to maternal and child mortality, that in building healthy families, all God's people may be empowered to strengthen their communities and repair the breaches which divid nations and peoples.
Almighty and ever-living God, giver of life and love, and Sanctifier of all families: Protect the health and safety of all women in childbirth and the children whom they bear, and inspire your people to work for an end to the deadly conditions which fuel maternal and child mortality throughout the world; that, in building strong and healthy families and communities, all may be strengthened to do your will on earth until the day when you gather us into one heavenly family. God of love, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
See also:
An Evening Prayer service for MDG #2, 3 & 5 from St. Paul's Cathedral, London
The Challenge
Every year, at least 529,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth. 99% of these occur in the developing world.
For every woman who dies in childbirth, around 20 more suffer injury, infection or disease - touching approximately 10 million women each year.
Complications resulting from unsafe abortions account for 13% of all maternal deaths.
Reduce by three-quarters, between 1990 and 2015, the maternal mortality ratio.
Click here for targets and progress indicators
Improve health for pregnant women.
Pregnant women can visit a midwife, nurse or doctor during their pregnancy and when they have their baby. If they need medicine, it is available.
Source: Kenyon Conference 2007 Children's Program - Experiencing the MDGs
El objetivo en Espanol
Reducir a mortalidad materna en tres cuartas partes.
Are we on track to meet MDG #5 by 2015? Find out at:
MDGMonitor - basic, easy to navigate
GapMinder MDG Charts - This site is great ... moving graphics show how the development of all countries by the indicators you choose. You can even get country-specific charts (for your companion diocese, for example)
Human Development Trends Movable Charts -- More from gapminder, see graphic demonstrations of MDG trends past, present and future.
UN Human Development Report - much more detailed, looks at MDGs through lens of climate change.
Printable Progress Chart on all 8 MDGs
Did You Know...
More than half a million women die in pregnancy and childbirth every year - that's one death every minute. Of these deaths, 99 per cent are in developing countries. In parts of Africa, maternal mortality rates are 1 in 16. (Source:UNFPA)
Only 28 in 100 women giving birth are attended by trained health personnel in the least developed countries. (Source:ActionAid)
Organizations that support MDG #5:
Episcopal Relief and Development - Learn about ERD's work with MDG #5 here.
Maison de Naissance - a birthing home in Haiti begun by people from the Diocese of West Missouri, the Episcopal DIocese of Haiti and the UMKC medical school - which has already dramatically reduced both infant mortality and maternal deaths while providing comprehensive medical care prenatally and postnatally.
Bware Health Center Maternity Project - a mission of Ray of Hope International in the South Nyanza Province of Kenya near the border of Tanzania. The health center is staffed with a Clinical Officer (Physician Assistant) and two nurses. The clinic sees approximately 40 to 50 patients a day. In addition,a group of 30 volunteers work within the community dispensing contraception, performing home health activities for sick patients and assisting in the births of babies. One of the biggest identified needs in the community is services to women. To this end the community has been doing fund raising and started construction of a maternity ward.
Use CharityNavigator to search for and vet organizations that work toward this goal.
Scripture that references our call to heal the brokenness of preventable maternal illness, injury and death:
John 19:27 - “Then Jesus said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.”
Genesis 10:11-13 – “Now Abraham and Sarah were old, advanced in age; it had ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women. So Sarah laughed to herself, saying, ‘After I have grown old, and my husband is old, shall I have pleasure?’ The Lord said to Abraham, ‘Why did Sarah laugh, and say, “Shall I indeed bear a child, now that I am old?” Is anything too wonderful for the Lord? At the set time I will return to you, in due season, and Sarah shall have a son.’”
Exodus 20:12 – “ Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”
Ephesians 6:2-3 – “‘Honour your father and mother’—this is the first commandment with a promise: ‘so that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth.’”
Gospels - Mary as unwed mother; Jesus born in barn.
For scriptural foundations for all 8 MDGs, click here for "The MDGs - Straight From Scripture"
For a comprehensive list of Peace and Justice related scriptures, click here.
What did we miss? Email us your scriptural references to our call to heal the brokenness of preventable maternal illness, injury and death.
Sermons about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death:
Submit your sermons about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death, here.
What One Can Do - Activities
Ways you can make MDG #5 come alive for your congregation:
Children's Story Event - This one takes a little orchestration but it's powerful. Get a group of 40 or more women together and have each bring a picture of a child who is meaningful to them -- could be their child or grandchild or anyone. Together they will begin to read 1-2 children's books out loud (one woman should take the lead with the actual book, reading and showing the pictures ... the rest will have scripts). After each line of the book, one woman's script will end and that will be her signal to "die" -- to quietly walk away from the group and tape/pin her picture of a child to a wall or bulletin board nearby. the reader is the last one to go. If you do more than one storybook (it will depend on how big a crowd of women you have), make sure whatever the final story you read is left unfinished. at the end you will have no more mothers left and a wall of children who have been left behind. EGR did this at General Convention (see pictures) and it was incredibly powerful. Choose simple, familiar children's books like "Goodnight, Moon" or "I'll Love You Forever". Click here for more information and photos from the General Convention event.
Submit your activities about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death, here.
Ways you can make MDG #5 come alive for children and youth:
Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies -- Teams list what pregnant women need and create games to learn this. (Page 9 - Kenyon Conference Children's Conference: Experiencing the MDGs)
Families Work Together -- Using self-designed masks, children play various helpful family members. (Page 9 - Kenyon Conference Children's Conference: Experiencing the MDGs)
Books about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death.
General books about the MDGs, including improving maternal health
What Can One Person Do: Faith to Heal a Broken World, by Sabina Alkire and Edmund Newell. - The best primer on the MDGs. A great mix of information, stories, statistics, prayers, resources, practical ideas and discussion questions. Perfect for individual or group study.
The Bottom Billion, by Paul Collier. - Accessible economics that explains how poor countries got there and are staying there.
The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time, by Jeffrey Sachs. - Economist Sachs outlines the various issues that contribute to the poverty trap of the one billion people that live on less than $1 a day as well as some cheap and easy solutions to address the problem.
The White Man's Burden: Why the West's Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good, by William Easterly - Easterly's response to Sach's ideas. A good book to read to learn the arguments against blindly throwing money at the world's poor and for carefully targeting bottom-up approaches.
Ending Global Poverty: A Guide to What Works, by Stephen C. Smith. - Smith outlines the issues related to poverty and what readers can do to help overcome the crisis.
Banker to the Poor: Micro-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty, by Muhammad Yunus. 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner's memoir about his experiences with microcredit with the Grameen Bank.
Movies/video about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death
Dead Mums Don't Cry (2006) - As part of the BBC's Africa Season, the investigative show Panorama filmed one woman's struggle to stop mothers in her country dying. She's Grace Kodindo - an obstetrician in the poverty-stricken central African country of Chad. Women in Chad have a 1 in 11 chance of dying during pregnancy or in childbirth. The risk for women in the UK is 1 in 5100. Read an article about it here. Order the 49-minute DVD here.
At Highest Risk (2006) - profiles a woman from the Peruvian Andes about to give birth following her native traditions, a provocative act in a country where government-mandated sterilization and onerous fines for home childbirth are used to reduce maternal deaths. Download a review of the film here. Preview the film and order it here.
General movies/video about the MDGs, including improving maternal health
The Girl in the Cafe (2005) - A sweet romance set at a G8 Summit with the subtext being conversation and debate about the Millennium Development Goals. A good combination of passion and impassioned approaches tied up in a moving and entertaining package. A beautiful movie. (Some brief nudity - if you're showing this to a youth group, be aware)
Submit your books and movies about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death, here.
Click here for the reading list for the Rev. Ian Douglas' EDS course Contemporary Issues in World Christianity, which includes readings on globalization/international debt, the environmental crisis, HIV/AIDS and women's empowerment, the effect of colonialism and neo-colonialism and more.
Websites with more resources/activities about MDG #5
UN Cyberschoolbus page on MDG #5 - youth-oriented page sponsored by the UN and the Millennium Campaign
http://www.povertymap.net/ - great library of poverty maps and other useful resources
www.borgenproject.org -- poverty reduction through political accountability. Great eye-opening statistics and studies.
What One Person Can Do
Stories about One Person working to eradicate preventable maternal illness, injury and death
Submit your One Person stories about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death, here.
What One Congregation Can Do
Stories about One Congregation working to eradicate preventable maternal illness, injury and death
What One Diocese Can Do
Stories about One Diocese working to eradicate preventable maternal illness, injury and death
Submit your One Diocese stories about eradicating maternal illness, injury and death, here.
What One Church Can Do
Stories about The Episcopal Church working to eradicate preventable maternal illness, injury and death
What One Has Said
Quotes about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death
"Motherhood and childhood are entitled to special care and assistance." - Article 25, 1949 Universal Declaration of Human Rights
Submit your favorite quotes about eradicating preventable maternal illness, injury and death, here.
