Local organization:
AMDD—Averting Maternal Death and Disability
I chose this organization because of Allan Rosenfield. We read about him in chapter 6 and his compassion for women and maternal mortality started AMDD with a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 1999. I also peeked at that organization also and it was a toss up between the two.
I am going to share the mission and vision of this organization but first I want to share information about AMDD. As I checked out the web site . . . http://www.amddprogram.org/d/, I was very impressed with the thoroughness of the information, statistics and the ease of going through the web site. The AMDD is trying to make the statistic of 99% of maternal deaths are in developing countries and reduce it by 75% by 2015 (Millennium Goal #5). This organization is trying to have global access to emergency obstetric care. This is their mission and vision. This can explain more about them then I can. It is what they stand for and believe in.
The Mission: Recognizing that maternal health is a basic human right, AMDD works with partners worldwide to stimulate new thinking and generate evidence-based solutions to improve maternal and newborn survival. AMDD supports action and intervention to strengthen overall health systems so that whenever and wherever emergencies happen – from home to hospital – lives will be saved by effective and timely response.
The Vision: We believe in a world that respects and upholds the dignity of all women and their basic human right to survive pregnancy and childbirth. We believe in taking a good, hard look at the overall health systems that are meant to support – but all too often do not support – women and their newborns. But it isn’t enough to simply examine these systems; we work collaboratively and innovatively to transform and strengthen them. Strong health systems are an important solution to broader global issues of poverty and inequity.
The organization also has Needs Assessment for Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care (EmONC). It is people getting data to back up the need for obstetric care and bring the data to the forefront and essentially proving to the world have grave the situation is. Mothers are dying giving birth and there are so many things that can be done to prevent and/or help with this epidemic. This data collecting is imperative to the success of this organization to get grants and present information to the appropriate people, governments and health organizations to get them on board.
This is the Need Assessment in a nut shell. . .
• Facility-based, cross-sectional studies that are usually national in scope
• Timeline: 8 -18 months
• Scope of data collection: infrastructure, human resources, equipment, drugs and supplies, service statistics, case reviews, and provider interviews relating to EmONC and maternal and reproductive health
• Results used for planning and health systems strengthening at all levels
(the italics was copy and pasted from the website: http://www.amddprogram.org/d/sites/default/files/needs_assessment_factsheet_english_0.pdf
I believe that this organization, which has been in business since 1999, is right on the money. They believe in what they do and they have gone after it. AMDD teams up with other organizations with the same beliefs to fight maternal mortality.
I think is a great cause. Women have been treated as second class citizen
enough; I also believe unborn children should be protected and cherished. It is a shame unborn children and mothers are left to die or fend for themselves. As the book said. . . education is possible the key. It showed that educated people were more likely to have money saved (because of better jobs) to have mothers see a doctor or have enough tucked away for emergencies. Let’s educate people—it couldn’t hurt.
Ericka Turlo
http://www.gatesfoundation.org/Pages/home.aspx
also another great organization-¬helps out globally and in the US
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