First I became U.N. Goodwill Ambassador for WHO, and that was in 2005. And then, about a year or so later, I decided to start my foundation.
It's not just Ethiopia, but Africa in general - most of the media concentrates on what's not going well. But there is so much beauty there. When you go, it changes everything. It changes you, your life, and the way you see things. The challenge is changing the image of Africa that's been anchored in people for years now.
I don't think we should judge celebrities for doing charity work. Period. Whatever their reasons for doing it, they are shedding light on issues that would otherwise go unnoticed.
Dying in childbirth is something that's not new; it's been going on for ages, and so it's not something that people focus on; it's not something that gets funded a lot, and it's exactly for that reason that we are losing mothers all the time, and we have kids with no mothers.
We should work to guarantee that there is a midwife or health worker by every woman's side during childbirth.
Helping others isn't a chore; it is one of the greatest gifts there is.
Prenatal care is one of the most effective ways to reduce maternal mortality because it identifies complications or high risks before emergency situations.
Midwives and doctors play a crucial role preventing unnecessary maternal deaths. They educate women about nutrition, health and family planning. And they step in when complications arise.
In 1967, the world health community launched a global effort to eradicate smallpox. It took a coordinated, worldwide effort, required the commitment of every government, and cost $130 million dollars. By 1977, smallpox had disappeared.
When our mothers are alive and healthy, they do extraordinary things... like the mothers of Plaza de Mayo, who marched in Argentinean plazas, defying the military junta dictatorship and demanding the whereabouts of their abducted children... or the Liberian mothers who faced down civil war armed only with T-shirts and courage.
Miriam Were has made outstanding contributions to public health in the developing world. She brings basic medical services to women and children in East Africa.
No other health disparity is so stark; virtually every woman who dies giving birth lives in a poor country.
When a woman has her first child in places like Africa, they're really young. They can be 12, 13,14, so their frames are really small, and they're usually malnourished.
Creative new health strategies like micro-insurance for poor people or Kangaroo care for pre-term babies are transforming health outcomes in even the most low-resource settings. Dedication and innovation are transforming health care worldwide.
Doing designs on a loom takes a lot of talent and experience, and, trust me, I won't be able to do that.
President Obama has made maternal health one of the core priorities of U.S. international aid funding.
When I see Lemlem walking around New York City, it's just mind-boggling, because I know it came from this one man sitting and weaving this little product.
Investing in women's lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations - and consequently in our own long-term national interests.
Traveling around Ethiopia, I saw dozens of abandoned textile factories. People kept asking me to help them find work. So I thought I could make use of my experience in fashion to commercialize their products outside of Ethiopia.
