Unlocking the full potential of girls and women around the world

"If you invest in a girl, she becomes a woman and invests in everyone else."

~ Melinda French Gates

When six-year-old Vanniza in Cambodia received life-changing healthcare supported through Watsi, her family was relieved of years of worry and wait. They traveled across the country for eight hours to seek care and hoped to return home with a healthy daughter. Like Vanniza, Mosonik, a two-year-old from Tanzania never had a pediatrician. Her healthcare relies on a complex informal network of people and knowledge. These patients' stories are a stark reminder that our social and built environment, along with education and job opportunities, often determines a person's chances of living a healthy life.

Such was also the case for Mary who had to forego her family's essential needs in trying to access life-saving medical treatment for her breast cancer. Even then, the money available was not enough. However, thanks to the support of the Watsi community, Mary was able to undergo the surgery she needed, and her story serves as an inspiration to us to continue working tirelessly towards breaking the health-poverty cycle.

However, new estimates released by the World Health Organization are worrying and show decades of progress in health outcomes are at risk — especially for women and girls. Needlessly, a woman dies every 2 minutes due to pregnancy or childbirth, with more than 70% occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa. We cannot afford to leave mothers and their babies behind because they are our future. And, the solutions to get us back on track and even accelerate progress are not going to come top-down. As we build a healthier world for all, we have an opportunity to deeply root ourselves in community-led leadership and action. This will help ensure progress that is more durable and more sustainable for the future.

"The vast majority of maternal deaths are preventable: the clinical knowledge and technology required to prevent them have existed for a long time. However, these solutions are often not available, not accessible or not implemented, especially in low-resource settings" - United Nations Maternal Mortality Estimation Inter-Agency Group (Trends in maternal mortality 2000 to 2020)

At Watsi, we are working every day to listen to the real needs of people in communities around the world and get resources to them as directly, efficiently, and transparently as possible.

But we also know that to make progress faster, we can't do this alone.

We invite you to join us today in creating a stronger tomorrow for the incredible girls and women around the world in need of life-changing healthcare. 100% of your support today directly funds their care unlocking a brighter future for all.