The Dutch and Duchess of Sussex are following in Princess Diana’s humanitarian footsteps.
Lately the news has been plastered with images of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Prince Harry and former American actress Meghan Markle officially became husband and wife with the entire world watching in awe last weekend. Our amazement to their whirlwind fairytale romance overshadowed perhaps one of their most noble contributions.
Knowing that it is customary to buy a wedding present, what can you get for people who quite literally have everything?
According to Kensington Palace, the two royals asked for people to make a donation instead of sending gifts. The palace picked 7 charities that governments and individuals can donate to. One of which was Welsh charity, Life for African Mothers.
Life for African Mothers is dedicated to the eradication of maternal mortality in both developed and developing countries. They provide medication to underprivileged communities for postpartum hemorrhage and treatment for eclampsia.
The charity received £1,500 in donations. They plan on funding a trip for a Welsh midwife to travel to Liberia. She will then train up to 30 local midwives. They project the trip will begin next Fall or Winter.
Eight-hundred and thirty women die each day due to complications from pregnancy or childbirth. In 2018, a time where modern medicine thrives, no woman should be dying from eclampsia.
As of 2013, Liberia has been making great progress towards maternal health. However, the Ministry of Health’s 2014 Report still found that it had to do more to ensure that health of pregnant women.
It stated: “Liberia is among countries with dire maternal mortality rates at 1,072 deaths per 100,000 live births. To ensure that this undesired rate tumbles, the health sector has elaborated a maternal and newborn mortality reduction roadmap with cost-effective interventions.”
Liberia Has One of the Highest Maternal Death Rates in the World.
According to a 2015 World Bank report, the previous Ebola outbreak killed 184 healthcare professionals in Liberia.
Life for African Mothers’s correct response in aiding Liberia is wonderful. So many times aid organizations omit the important aspect of creating a collaborative aid system, which involves the communities of the developing region so that people can be agents of their own change and not perpetually be dependent on an outside source.
Eradicating maternal mortality means allowing individuals to contribute to their own success. Westerners desire to “save” impoverished societies which is a nice aspiration, but their attempts at salvation will be futile unless they take the time to fully understand certain cultural aspects and include the people that they are trying to save.
Therefore, training midwives not only brings knowledge to the 30 women that are being educated, it positively affects the entire community. Now those midwives can educate other women and girls, and break the preventable cycle of women dying from pregnancy.
Meghan Markle is an advocate for women’s rights who proudly wears the labels “woman” and “feminist.” During a UN speech, Markle explains the way to change a culture that is not accommodating for women. She says,
“Mobilize girls and women to see their value as leaders and support them in these efforts. Have leaders such as President Kagame of Rwanda continue to be a role model of a country which has a parliamentary system comprised of sixty-four percent female leaders.”
Duchess Markle understands that advancing culture for women means enlisting women and girls to be agents of their own change. Give them tools to be leaders and social entrepreneurs. They cannot accomplish that if staggering numbers of them are dying from simple complications due to pregnancy.
Featured Image via Wikimedia Commons
