Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us to raise this money for the work of Amnesty International!

We are both delighted to have completed the London Marathon (despite some obstacles including a volcanic ash cloud!) and raised well over our target - thanks to everyone's generosity - to help the vital work explained below.

Thank you again! - Jane and Marianne.

 

Help End Maternal Mortality

Welcome to Marianne and Jane’s fund raising site in aid of Amnesty International. We're running to support Amnesty's maternal health campaign and thanks so much for getting this far.

We come across many moving stories in the course of our working day as Editor and Deputy Editor of Grazia magazine, but as mothers of two young boys each, when we heard about Amnesty International’s new campaign to help prevent maternal mortality, we felt we had to help.

It’s hard to believe that in this day and age one woman every hour dies in Tanzania from childbirth related complications. Pregnancy is not a disease, yet worldwide a staggering half a million women a year die in childbirth. What is heartbreakingly frustrating is that most of these deaths are easily preventable with basic medical care.

Amnesty, along with a coalition of other charities, aims to reduce these needless deaths in developing countries by three-quarters in the next five years. We hope we can do our bit to help them reach this target, so please make our blisters worthwhile by donating what you can. Thanks so much for your help!

Marianne and Jane

Amnesty Director Kate Allen said

"Giving birth to a child should be a blessing, not a death sentence. Every pregnant woman has the right to decent healthcare, no matter what country she’s from. It’s a global scandal that women in the developing world are put at such risk.

Women have the right to access services and information that could save their lives and those of their children. Governments are responsible for providing those services. And governments should be held answerable if they fail to do so. Amnesty is also calling on wealthy donor countries like the UK to ensure that maternal health is given the priority it deserves in development funding.

Grazia readers can take action at www.amnesty.org.uk/mums. And you can help us to keep campaigning by sponsoring Jane and Marianne in the London Marathon

P.S.  Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure.  Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer.