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Most Charitable States, Caring Cities in the US
During the holidays $511 million dollars was donated online on Giving Tuesday. That marks an increase of 28% from 2018. While the total number of charitable donations have yet to be tallied for the entirety of 2019, estimates hover around $430 billion. Given that, what cities and states are giving the most money online and…
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9 Maternal Health Stories Worth Reading This Weekend
Now that 2020 is in full swing I decided to catch up on the many maternal health and mortality articles that were published during the holiday season. There has been a lot of stellar reporting that you might have missed. I did. Here is a compilation of some of the articles I found the most…
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Donate Blood This Month, Save a Life, Plus Win a Great Trip
When I was in high school I was a volunteer at my local Red Cross donation center. I did a variety of things like give donors cookies and juice after they donated blood, separated the vials (sans any blood) between autologous, directed, and regular blood donations, and also registered donors into the system. I loved…
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International Day of Charity: 5 Ways To Improve Your Charity Online
September 5th is the International Day of Charity. Declared by the United Nations, this day coincides with the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa. The idea is to promote goodwill all around the world. Here are 5 ways how the internet can boost your generosity. 1.Collect The Information Online: When starting a charity, you should…
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NEW: Drug That Prevents PostPartum Hemorrhage Added To WHO Essential Medicines List
As I have written many times before postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) or excessive uterine bleeding after childbirth is the leading cause of maternal mortality in low-and-middle income countries. The recommended drug to prevent PPH according to the World Health Organization (WHO) is oxytocin. When administered in its recommended dose it causes little to no side effects.…
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Maximize Traveling for Good While Minimizing Your Footprint
There is a lot of need in the world and it takes a special person who willingly gets on a plane to aid communities that can use a helping hand from added resources (monetary and otherwise) to expertise, to volunteering. While traveling for good is on the proverbial bucket list for many, more thought should…
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First Malaria Vaccine Rolls Out in Malawi
It is heartening to see progress in the fight against malaria. Over the past thirty years and with hundreds of millions of dollars invested thus far, the RTS,S malaria vaccine was officially rolled out yesterday in Malawi. In 2017, I wrote about the vaccine trials that began in 2009 and the announcement of the three countries…
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Congressional Black Maternal Health Caucus Launches on Capitol Hill
On Tuesday the first congressional caucus on black maternal health launched on Capitol Hill. Led by Democrat congresswomen Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC) and freshman Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Il.) the caucus’s mission is to ensure black women are not dying senselessly during or after childbirth As has been noted here many times before black women experience…
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How to Help Women Gain Financial Independence this International Women’s Day #IWD
We often think about poverty and how to fix it. There isn’t one magic bullet that moves people out of poverty. However, there are a few tenets about reducing poverty in families who live in underserved communities that work nearly every time and those are working directly with women and giving them financial tools to…
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11 Maternal Health Organizations to Support This Year
Maternal mortality continues to be a major problem the world over. The United States is the only developed country where maternal death rates are increasing especially for non-Hispanic black women. And in low-and-middle income countries, approximately 830 women die each day from pregnancy-related, preventable causes.
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January Is Birth Defects Prevention Month: Are Local Health Departments Ready?
Q&A with NACCHO Board Member Sandra Elizabeth Ford, MD, MPH Director of the DeKalb County Board of Health A baby is born with a birth defect in the United States every 4.5 minutes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Birth defects are defined as any structural changes present at birth that…
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The 3 stages of Giving: Deference, Arrogance and Inquiry
Great minds don’t always think alike. Lightspring/Shutterstock.com Jennifer A. Jones, University of Florida If you had US$1 million to give to charities aiming to eradicate poverty, how would you do it? Would you support a soup kitchen? A financial literacy program? Educational scholarships? Organizations pressing for policy changes? I worked for nonprofits for many years…
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12 Tips for Safe Global Travel
Now that summer is in full swing, many are heading abroad for annual vacations. While planning the perfect global getaway can be daunting, it is equally as important to stay safe while traveling internationally as it is to score a great deal on a hotel stay. The American Red Cross has put together twelve important…
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IKEA Foundation Grants $53 Million to Support Children’s Right to Play
War and conflict. Poverty. Gender discrimination. Growing up too fast. These are just some of the reasons children in some of the poorest countries around the world are not allowed to play. Play makes children healthier and more resilient. It heals some of their greatest wounds and helps them remain kids without growing up too…
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Duracell Distributes $1 Million of Batteries in Puerto Rico for Hurricane Relief
With nearly 84% of Puerto Rico still without power after Hurricane Maria, Duracell has arrived on the island today and will distribute $1 million of batteries as well as charging mobile devices and internet access through its Power Forward initiative. When natural disasters occur Duracell helps to reconnect communities. Puerto Rico will be its largest distribution effort…
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Why Kenya Needs to Adopt ‘Milk Banks’ to Reduce Infant Deaths
Elizabeth Kimani-Murage, Brown University Mother’s milk has an enormous impact on child survival. While in Kenya it has improved over the past decade, the number of children who die before five years remains significant. The rate has decreased from 115 per 1000 live births in 2003 to 52 in 2014. Neighbors Rwanda (2008), Tanzania (2012)…
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Why 20 Million People Are on the Brink of Starvation and How You Can Help
It’s difficult to fathom that 20 million people are on the brink of starvation in Sub-Sharan Africa and the Middle East, but the statistic is true. In fact, the region is facing the largest humanitarian crisis in over seventy years and if no help is provided 1.4 million children are at risk of death. Not…
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Coca-Cola Celebrates Mother’s Day With Women Artisans #5by20
Last year I was happy to see women in Nepal benefitting from Coca-Cola’s 5by20 program. By 2020 Coca-Cola has pledged to help five million women entrepreneurs around the globe by allowing them to earn money through its value chain. That could mean teaching women valuable business skills as I saw in Kathmandu to providing women with…
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Impress Mom With These Maternal Health Mother’s Day Gift Ideas + Giveaway
Mother’s Day is the perfect holiday to splurge on the moms in your life as well as to support moms around the world. It’s a day to show love for mothers we know and to also remain mindful of the mothers everywhere who may need a little or even a lot of help for them…
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5 Maternal Health Interventions That Save Mothers’ Lives
Every day 800 women die during childbirth or from pregnancy complications. This startling statistic represents women who not only live in sub-Saharan Africa where most maternal deaths occur but also throughout the world. In order to reduce the number of maternal deaths in low- and middle-income countries across the globe design teams, social entrepreneurs, innovators, and…