Audrey’s greatest fear is to be pregnant or see her friends and loved ones pregnant. She almost died with one of her deliveries. She still shivers when she thinks about that time. The odds are against mothers in her country. An estimated 13,000 women die from pregnancy and delivery related complications each year, most from a lack of proper obstetric care.* Tanzania has the 21^st highest rate of maternal death in Africa. Audrey also worries about children’s health, about babies dying before their time — many from vaccine preventable diseases.

I wish we could all jump on a plane together and visit with Audrey and her friends in Tanzania. However, there is so much we can do from here. From sharing issues on our blogs and via social media, donating as much as we can afford and a bit more, writing letters to influencers and policy makers.

You can join us in taking the Million Moms challenge, a coalition of global health partners for mothers and babies founded by the United Nations Foundation and ABC News. Take action for moms and babies everywhere! There are many things you can do right now. Our donations page takes you to a variety of on-the-ground maternal and child health projects you can support immediately.

This week is World Immunization Week, and our partners at the UN Foundation are launching a powerful campaign called Shot@Life, to help make sure every child gets the vaccines they need to have a shot at a healthy life. Here’s how you can help.

Audrey and her friends are fighting this battle every day. Let’s take a few minutes today to join them.

*Source: http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/tanzania_statistics.html

*Photo courtesy of Bonbon mini

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