03.30.11
Julie Lasky | Essays

Search for the Obvious: Challenge #2


Mary Cassatt, Mother and Child, 1890. Wichita Art Museum, Kansas. From Wikimedia Commons.

Once again, Acumen Fund is looking for creative solutions to social problems that may be hidden in plain sight. The organization's second challenge to the design-minded public is called Moms Matter: Make It Obvious.

Here's the brief in the organizers' words:

THE PROBLEM: For too many women the world, childbirth is hardly safer today than it was 100 years ago. By the time you’ve finished reading this, a woman will have died from complications related to pregnancy or childbirth. That’s 1,000 women a day — 99% of them in developing countries. And for every woman who dies, 20 more will suffer injury, infection or disease. Yet the vast majority of maternal deaths (eight in ten, if you want to be precise) could be averted with simple — often low-cost — treatments and quality obstetric care.

THE CHALLENGE: Raising kids is hard. Surviving childbirth shouldn’t be. Use your creative genius to show that moms matter and deserve more! Quality maternal health is not an option, it's a right. Submissions are due April 17th at 11:59pm Pacific. This challenge dares students, kids, husbands, fathers, designers, videographers, and creative minds of all shapes and stripes to come up with the craftiest campaign for putting maternal health on the map and into the public eye. Winners of the challenge will be chosen by an esteemed panel of judges and announced by ABC News, GOOD Magazine, and Acumen Fund on Monday May 9th, in celebration of Mother’s Day.

Posted in: Health + Safety




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