A couple of weeks ago we took a book full of personal, inspiring and heart-warming messages direct to Downing Street. You told Gordon Brown why it matters to you that he delivers free health care for mothers and children in developing countries.
The good news is that he kept that promise when he went to the UN. The meeting was dominated by headlines about climate change and the global economic crisis and Colonel Gaddafi. But in among that, the Prime Minister announced a deal to support free health services in Nepal, Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Malawi and Burundi. What a result!
This throws a lifeline of free health care to millions of mums and babies. Everyone who sent us their stories or added a square to last year’s giant knitted petition can know that they really helped make a massive difference.
I can’t quite believe that we had such success after a hectic couple of weeks of campaigning. The final push was a couple of weeks from inception to hand in and involved an ambitious plan to promote this to a range of our UK allies, including Mumsnet.
I spent two weeks checking websites, looking at totals for actions taken and generally worrying about whether we’d turn up to meet Gordon Brown with empty hands and red faces.
Thankfully, for my blood pressure, you stepped up to the mark. We’ll keep an eye on what happens to make sure that the promises are delivered but there’s no doubt that everyone who got involved helped to deliver a real step forward in the battle to make sure no one is denied health care because they are too poor too pay.
Tags: maternal health, mumsnet, United Nations General Assembly
