March 8th, 2015 marks the 104th anniversary of International Women’s Day (IWD), a tribute to the heroic sacrifices and progress that women around the world have made in their struggle to achieve equality. This year, IWD highlights the 1995 Beijing Platform for Action, a historic road map signed by 189 governments to advance women’s rights. CMMB joins the international community in upholding the astounding progress the world has achieved in the 20 years since that historic global summit.

International Women's Day

Celebrating Milestones

Huge, brave, and hard-won strides have been made in the past 20 years to advance girls’ education, maternal and child health, and to empower women. Here are just a few of the triumphs we have earned for women since 1995:

  • Maternal mortality worldwide has dropped by almost 50 percent.
  • The number of children under the age of five that die each year has been nearly cut in half.
  • The world has achieved equality in primary education between girls and boys.

Thanks to efforts from generous donors and collaborations among partners, governments, international organizations, and communities, we have seen a sea change for women on many fronts. But we still face major challenges. Evidence shows that our advances have not adequately reached women and girls living in extreme poverty: of the 800 women who die every day from causes related to pregnancy or childbirth, 500 live in sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, nearly half of women in sub-Saharan Africa give birth without the help of a qualified birth attendant.

A Global Turning Point

The year 2015 marks a monumental turning point in global development—there have been huge advances in the health-related Millennium Development Goals, which expire in six months.

As world leaders are agreeing new Sustainable Development Goals for the next 15 years, we know we have unfinished business. Data–and experience–show us that reaching people living in extreme poverty will be difficult. If we are to affect change for the 290,000 women and girls still dying from complications linked to pregnancy or labor, we must renew our commitments, forge strong partnerships, and be present in the poorest communities.

CMMB has launched a new Children and Mothers Partnerships (CHAMPS) initiative to target the leading causes of illness and death among the most vulnerable women and children in Haiti, Peru, Kenya, South Sudan, and Zambia. Building on CMMB’s on-the-ground presence and deep-rooted local and international relationships, the CHAMPS initiative aims to prevent the needless deaths of women and girls and ignite opportunities for entire communities.

In commemoration of International Women’s Day 2015, CMMB President and CEO Bruce Wilkinson remarks, “We have a ‘once in a generation chance’ to chart the course to a more equal, sustainable world for the seven billion people who share it–half of whom are women.”

We have a vision of the future we want–and we have the map to get there. We thank the incredible CMMB community for their commitment to joining us on the journey.