Letter to the Editor, NY Times

To the Editor: The May 29 editorial, Preventable Deaths notes little progress in the last decade on reducing maternal mortality - 500,000 deaths annually, 99% in developing countries. Low-tech, cost effective solutions exist, but the funding and political commitment to prevent these deaths do not. An often overlooked fact is that women are truly an economic force and the backbone of production in developing countries.  Two thirds of all goods moved in African are moved by women, not in trucks or buses, but in their arms and on their heads. And, 80% of the food consumed in Africa is produced by the African farmer and HER husband. The media has a key role in making this message heard and accepted. The Times is to be commended for taking the lead. Women Deliver. Invest in women, it pays! 

-Jill Sheffield, Women Deliver