White Ribbon Alliance (The)

Non-governmental organisation that campaigns for safe motherhood

Created in 1999, the White Ribbon Alliance fights against death in childbirth. Every minute, a woman dies in childbirth somewhere in the world. Each year, 529,000 mothers leave behind a million orphans. “Every health minister should be thinking about this and what their plan is,” Sarah Brown stated in May 2009 before 193 members of the World Health Organization. The Alliance, chaired by the wife of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, has members in 118 countries and alliances with 13 countries — Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Nepal, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen and Zambia. On March 28, 2008, during the presidential couple’s visit to the UK, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy gave her first speech at the lunch organized for the White Ribbon Alliance. She called for mobilization to help mothers dying in childbirth in the poorest countries: “One of the greatest tragedies of our time is taking place unseen, particularly in developing countries, when this most intense and marvelous moment of birth is transformed into tragedy.“  Between 2007 and 2008, spending by the White Ribbon Alliance programs increased from $569,625 to $3,088,609. The budget is on the increase and probably set to rise further. Since April 2009, Naomi Campbell has been global ambassador for the cause.