It is with much excitement and great fear that I am now in the position of attempting to complete one of my ambitions - to run a marathon before reaching a particular age! 

The ripe old age I set as my target is still two years away but after much hounding from a dear colleague and a bet with my boss, I have been backed into a corner and I will be running/jogging/hobbling my way to completing the Brighton marathon in aid of Maternity Worldwide.

Maternity Worldwide aims to reduce maternal deaths in developing countries by providing quality maternal health services to those communities who need it most.

In the UK women rarely worry about surviving pregnancy and childbirth due to high quality maternity care; tragically in some African countries pregnancy and childbirth is one of the leading causes of death, with the lifetime risk of pregnancy related death as high as 1 in 7.

Maternity Worldwide saves lives in childbirth by helping those women who most need access to professional care. This is achieved through the employment and training of medical and midwifery staff, setting up women's communtiy education and empowerment groups and providing a Safe Birth Fund for those unable to pay for care.

The average cost of a delivery by a trained professional in a hospital in Ethiopia is only GBP15. This to most people in the developed world is a small price, but to people in Western Ethiopia is very expensive considering that the average wage is only GBP110 (US$185) per year.

Here are some examples of what your money can do:

£1	Pays for antibiotics to pay for a course of treatment, to prevent infection post childbirth
£5	Pays for IV drugs and fluid for a Caesarean Section
£15	Sponsors a safe birth in our Maternity Unit at Gimbie Hospital
£40	Sponsors a Caesarean Section
£100	Buys resources and aids for community Health Education
£500	Provides the annual salary of a junior midwife
£600	Provides vital radio links to and from outlying clinics with the central hospital
£1000	Pays for vital equipment to upgrade a clinic to be able to provide skilled maternity care
£1500	Sponsors an individual through 1 year of midwifery training
£5000	Will pay for an initial assessment to new areas of need

More information about Maternity Worldwide can be found at www.maternityworldwide.org.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. 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. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - I raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.