Projects around the world aimed at improving the health and well-being of women were being honoured today.
A list of 50 projects was issued by the pressure group Women Deliver for International Women’s Day.
They include birth attendants in Sierra Leone and a midwife college in Ethiopia.
An organisation called Aawaaj in Nepal works to break the silence around violence against women.
And the global organisation Girls Not Brides is also honoured. Its aim is to prevent child marriages.
More than 6,000 people took part in on-line voting to select the 50 from a shortlist of 125 projects.
Women Deliver president Jill Sheffield said: "The solutions on this list show that with ingenuity, drive and dedication, we can build a better world for girls and women.
"We are proud to celebrate these organisations and programs, which are pioneering real, lasting social change at the local and global levels. We have seen time and time again that when we invest in girls and women, entire societies benefit."
Nicole Tobin, of Health Poverty Action – responsible for the Sierra Leone project – said: "It is both an honour and a well-deserved recognition for the traditional birth attendants and their trainers to be included in the eminent Women Deliver 50-list.
"The safe pregnancy and motherhood information that they share with women and the encouragement of child delivery at health centres have recently led to a 67 per cent decrease in maternal deaths in the area we work in."
One of the originators of Girls Not Brides, former Irish president Mary Robinson said: “We have made great strides toward substantially bettering the lives of girls and women through the types of innovative programming and advocacy we find among these winners. But we can – and we must – do more.
“The time is now for the global community to prioritise girls and women so that they can fulfil their potential and break the cycle of poverty and inequality."
Leave a Reply