Heather Ignatius, Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer for PATH, is the proud mom of 3 year old Cleo and 7 month old Lily.

Every night when I put my three-year-old daughter to sleep I ask her, “what are you thankful for?” I'm trying to teach her the concept of gratitude and it's nice to have the last thoughts before going to bed each evening be about the people, privileges or experiences that we are grateful for.  I try and mix it up each night to capture how truly blessed we are to have so much. 

When I ask Cleo this question, her response is always an immediate, “You first, mama,” and it gives me pause for a moment while I try to come up with something new to say.  Because, you see, if I answered that question honestly, the answer would be the same. Every. Single. Night.  I'm thankful that my girls are alive, happy and healthy. 

In my job at PATH, I'm an advocate for global child and maternal health, so I'm constantly reminded about what I have that other mothers around the world do not.  I won't have to carry my feverish child in my arms for miles to the nearest clinic in hopes of getting treatment in time. My kids have had their rotavirus and pneumococcal vaccines, making it unlikely that they will perish from two of the leading killers of kids.  My decision to breastfeed had more to do with IQ points and bonding - not survival.   My girls will more than likely make it to see their fifth birthdays.

Mothers in other countries are not so lucky.  Each year we lose 6 million kids to diseases like diarrheal disease and pneumonia and 800 moms a day die giving birth.  Tragically, these deaths are completely preventable.  

But there is reason for optimism. Over the last 20 years, the number of child deaths has been halved and maternal deaths have reduced by one third as programs to save moms and babies have expanded. These programs teach families the importance of healthy behaviors like breastfeeding and handwashing; they provide essential services such as having trained healthcare workers present at births; and they scale up low cost health products such as medicines for life threatening childhood diseases and vaccines to prevent them. 

In 2012 governments around the world came together to acknowledge that we had reached a turning point in maternal and child survival.  The United States, Ethiopia and India issued a call to action to put an end to preventable child and maternal deaths within a generation. It was a pivotal moment—the first time governments set a radically ambitious goal for child and maternal health and pledged action to meet it.   

Reaching this goal is possible if we scale up the interventions we know work. And we can reach it even faster with new innovations - products like a low cost breathing device for newborn asphyxia or new screening devices to test for common ailments and risks during pregnancy.

As the second anniversary of this call to action approaches, commitment abounds. More than 175 countries around the world have signed onto the pledge to end preventable child and maternal deaths.  Yet we are at a critical moment where ambition must turn into action in short order.  Now is the time for governments to put forward the strategies and resources to achieve the goal. 

This month two social media campaigns are being launched to call attention to child and maternal health: Mom and Baby and 5^th Birthday and Beyond.  Share your photos and help show the world how precious these lives are.  But more importantly, call upon your government to follow through on the commitment it has made to end preventable child and maternal deaths.  

Ps. If you want to know what Cleo is thankful for, most nights she says ”candy!”

-- Heather Ignatius is a Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer for PATH and proud mom of 3 year old Cleo and 7 month old Lily.