“Women In The World” Summit Features Maternal Mortality Panel

Tina Brown's high-visibility gathering includes panel discussion on approaches to addressing maternal mortality.

The Women in the World Summit has become — in just 5 years — one of the most important global events for drawing attention to issues faced by the world’s women.  Launched in 2009 by award-winning journalist, editor and author Tina Brown, the multi-day summit convenes an extraordinary group of leaders, influencers, inspirational activists and political change-makers who come to share their stories, and offer solutions, on how we can build a better life for women and girls.

This year’s event, held April 3-5 in New York City, featured a panel on Breakthroughs in the Fight against Maternal Mortality, a rich discussion on strategies to save thousands of mothers’ lives that are tragically and needlessly lost each year.  Merck for Mothers helped conceive the panel, and Merck CEO Kenneth Frazier was one of several participants in the session moderated by Soledad O’Brien. Merck for Mothers is led by Dr. Naveen Rao, who also serves as the Vice Chair for Maternal Health at the MDG Health Alliance.

In this video clip, taken after the panel, maternal and newborn health advocate HRH Princess Sarah Zeid shares her personal story as well as recent innovations in newborn survival.