For many women in rural areas of the developing world, high-quality medical care is hours and sometimes even days away.
Empowering these women with mobile technology that enables them to access health care professionals instantly can save lives. Challenges like these and their solutions will be part of the focus for next year’s Clinton Global Initiative University annual meeting, which will be held at the George Washington University next spring.
As the 2012 host, George Washington is making the first Commitment to Action – a concrete plan to address a major global challenge – of the fifth CGI U meeting to collect 20,000 used cell phones by March 2012.
The campaign, called GW + Phones = Hope, could raise up to $100,000 through its collection drive, which will help fund two maternal and child health projects -- one in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and one in Nepal.
GW will work with an organization called Hope Phones, which recycles used cell phones and uses the proceeds to fund mobile health technology projects in developing countries
The GW + Phones = Hope initiative represents a commitment to address an issue within CGI U’s focus area of public health.
“By making this pledge in the spirit of the Clinton Global Initiative, we are answering President Clinton’s challenge in a way that will have a direct impact on maternal and child health,” said George Washington President Steven Knapp.
To kick off the campaign, George Washington will host a GW + Phones = Hope kickoff rally at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 18 in the Marvin Center. Special guest speakers include Chelsea Clinton, William J. Clinton Foundation board member, and Christy Turlington Burns, founder of Every Mother Counts, an advocacy and mobilization campaign to increase education and support for maternal and child health.
The cell phone collection drive was inspired by ABC News’ Be The Change initiative and its current Million Moms Challenge.
In the United States alone, about 500,000 cell phones are discarded each day, polluting the environment with plastic and other toxins. The average donated phone, however, will generate two to three phones that can be used in the field, while smartphones can yield between five and 10.
The kickoff rally is free and open to the public but RSVP is required.