Calling on a million moms

The U.S. Fund for UNICEF is joining ABC News and the United Nations Foundation in the Million Moms Challenge. The initiative aims to connect millions of Americans with millions of moms in developing countries in an effort to engage on the critical issues of pregnancy, childbirth and children’s health.

The Million Moms Challenge is calling on a million Americans to join the movement by signing up on the Challenge’s website or on Facebook. For the first 100,000 people who sign on, Johnson & Johnson will donate $100,000 to the U.S. Fund for UNICEF and 5 other organizations implementing lifesaving programs for moms and babies around the world.

The Challenge will focus on areas that are of vital importance to UNICEF and to moms all around the world: the right nutrition to support pregnancies, skilled attendants to assist in safe deliveries of newborns, and vaccines that allow children to survive to celebrate their first birthdays and beyond. This will all lead up to a one-hour primetime special on maternal health anchored by Good Morning America’s Diane Sawyer on December 16.

As part of the Million Moms Challenge, ABC News traveled to Mogadishu, Somalia, where they reported on UNICEF-supported measles vaccination campaigns in areas affected by the ongoing drought and famine.

Visit millionmomschallenge.com over the next 3 months to learn more about the ways moms are making a difference in their own communities and around the world. The site will also include a live, interactive forum for bloggers to share their stories and ideas in real time with moms and midwives in the developing world.