Think about…

Every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

MDG 4 aims to reduce by two-thirds, the under-five mortality rate from 95 to 31 per 1,000 live births by 2015.

MDG 5 aims to reduce by three quarters the maternal mortality ratio and to achieve, by 2015, universal access to reproductive health.

It is estimated that every year, around 200 million children die the day they are born.

For every woman who dies from complications related to childbirth, approximately 20 more suffer injuries, infections and disabilities that are usually untreated and ignored.

Newborn death and disease can be reduced by implementing simple, low-cost interventions during delivery and days after birth.

Zonta Birthing Kits  With donations from Zonta members and money received from AusAid, Zonta purchases particular basic materials to put in birthing kits.  Volunteers assist with the assembling of these kits, which is what the 30 girls will be doing this lunchtime.

 Small piece of soap  Scalpel blade  Plastic sheeting (similar to garbage bag)  Rubber gloves  Short pieces of string  Pieces of gauze These Birthing Kits consist of a few basic materials to help and prevent infections:

 The kits are simple, cheap and effective for the very poorest women to use.  They will be sent to women in developing countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.