UN Foundation President and CEO Recognizes the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) and the Power of Mobile Health

On Mother’s Day, the Mobile Alliance for Maternal Action (MAMA) will celebrate its third anniversary.

MAMA is a public-private partnership between the United Nations Foundation and the United States Agency for International Development, Johnson & Johnson, the mHealth Alliance, and BabyCenter. The MAMA partnership delivers vital health messages to new and expectant mothers in developing countries via their mobile phones.

UN Foundation President and CEO Kathy Calvin released the following statement marking MAMA’s third anniversary:

“In three years, MAMA has boosted and brightened lives – putting life-saving health information directly into mothers’ hands through mobile phones. MAMA is an innovative and powerful example of how the public and private sectors can work together to advance women’s and children’s health in support of the United Nations’ Every Woman Every Child movement and Millennium Development Goals 4 and 5.

“As we celebrate Mother’s Day and MAMA’s 3rd anniversary, let’s also celebrate the role of mobile health as a gateway for women’s empowerment. In the path from female poverty to prosperity, there are no silver bullets. But the mobile phone comes close because it provides women with voice, choice, and control. “In its fourth year, MAMA will continue to expand the frontiers of mobile innovation to transform women’s lives. As we’ve seen – and as the evidence shows – when women are connected, healthy, and empowered, their families, their communities, and the world benefit.”

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About The United Nations Foundation The United Nations Foundation builds public-private partnerships to address the world’s most pressing problems, and broadens support for the United Nations through advocacy and public outreach. Through innovative campaigns and initiatives, the Foundation connects people, ideas, and resources to help the UN solve global problems. The Foundation was created in 1998 as a U.S. public charity by entrepreneur and philanthropist Ted Turner and now is supported by global corporations, foundations, governments, and individuals. For more information, visit www.unfoundation.org.