"Steps to Deliver Change" - National fundraising walk for disadvantaged mothers

HAMILTON, ON, April 22, 2013 /CNW/ - This Mother's Day weekend, seven communities across Canada will host fundraising walks to improve maternal health in the developing world, where childbirth is one of the leading killers of women.

In Ontario, "Steps to Deliver Change" walks will take place in the communities of Bradford West Gwillimbury, Cambridge, Dundas, East Toronto and Stouffville. In British Columbia, walks will take place in Langley and on Vancouver Island. Proceeds of the five kilometer walks will go to Save the Mothers, a Canadian charity based in Uganda, which empowers East African leaders to improve standards and practices of maternal health in their communities.

"Every day, 800 women die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth," says Dr. Daniel Scott, Managing Director of Save the Mothers. "Almost all of these deaths are preventable, and occur in the developing world where social, economic and cultural barriers prevent women from receiving adequate care."

When The United Nations established the Millennium Development Goals in 2000, they set Goal 5 to improve maternal health. While the world has made progress, levels are far removed from the 2015 target of reducing the maternal mortality ratio (MMR) by three quarters. The MMR in developing regions remains 15 times higher than in developed regions of the world.

A recent article in the medical journal The Lancet noted that the era of the world's Millennium Development Goals is drawing to a close, and "… a moment of uncertainty hangs over the fate of more than 200 million women who become pregnant each year."

"Save the Mothers believes every mother counts," says Scott, "and that we can all take steps to deliver change to improve maternal health." www.savethemothers.org

SOURCE: Save the Mothers

For walk times and locations, contact:
Patricia Paddey, Communications Director, [email protected] / Ph: [phone]
Or visit: www.walkformothersday.com