May 10 is Mother's Day and I'll be celebrating it with my wife and four children with our usual family traditions -- breakfast in bed, handmade cards from the kids, flowers from me and a nice dinner out.
Many families in the U.S. will be celebrating much like us. The statistics bear this out - an estimated 85 million roses will be delivered on Mother's Day. 151 million Mother's Day cards will be sent.
Unfortunately, in impoverished communities around the world, millions of mothers won't enjoy a Mother's Day like ours. They aren't showered with affection on a special day in their honor; they're neglected year-round. The statistics bear this out - hundreds of thousands of mothers die needlessly from preventable diseases each year. And 25,000 of their children (most under the age of five) die every single day from wholly preventable causes.
According to the Associated Press, even Slumdog Millionaire's child stars are still living in impoverished surroundings, surrounded by neglected families.
Fortunately, we can all help to change those statistics, prevent these needless deaths and give mothers around the world an equal chance to live healthy lives. As we celebrate Mother's Day this year, OneWorld Health is encouraging those who can to help mothers and children in developing countries who need essential medicines the most but can least afford them.
Over 1 billion people a year suffer from neglected diseases each year, and Mother's Day is an opportune time to remember not only our own mothers, but those around the world who struggle every day just to survive.
We're proud to be working with our partners on initiatives to raise awareness of neglected diseases affecting the world's poor and develop affordable, life-saving medicines so that all mothers, everywhere, won't be neglected on Mother's Day or any day.