WEBVTT

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In the next six minutes
that you will listen to me,

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the world will have lost three mothers

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while delivering their babies:

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one, because of a severe complication;

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second, because she will be a teenager

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and her body will not
be prepared for birth;

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but the third, only because of lack
of access to basic clean tools

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at the time of childbirth.

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She will not be alone.

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Over one million mothers and babies
die every single year

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in the developing world,

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only because of lack of access
to basic cleanliness

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while giving birth to their babies.

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My journey began on a hot summer afternoon

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in India in 2008,

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when after a day of meeting women
and listening to their needs,

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I landed in a thatched hut with a midwife.

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As a mother, I was very curious
on how she delivered babies in her house.

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After a deep and engaging
conversation with her

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on how she considered it a profound
calling to do what she was doing,

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I asked her a parting question:

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Do you have the tools that you need
to deliver the babies?

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I got to see her tool.

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"This is what I use to separate
the mother and the baby," she said.

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Unsure of how to react, I held this
agricultural tool in my hand in shock.

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I took a picture of this,
hugged her and walked away.

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My mind was flooded with reflections
of my own infection

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that I had to struggle with
for a year past childbirth

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despite having access
to the best medical care,

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and memories of my conversation
with my father,

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who had lost his mom to childbirth,

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on how he thought his life
would be so different

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if she would have been
just next to him growing up.

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As a product developer,
I started my process of research.

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I was very excited to find
that there was a product out there

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called the Clean Birth Kit.

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But I just couldn't buy one for months.

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They were only assembled
based on availability of funding.

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Finally, when I got my hands on one,
I was in shock again.

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I would never use these tools
to deliver my baby, I thought.

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But to confirm my instincts,
I went back to the women,

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some of whom had the experience
of using this product.

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Lo and behold, they had
the same reaction and more.

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The women said they would rather
deliver on a floor

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than on a plastic sheet
that smeared blood all over.

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They were absolutely right --
it would cause more infection.

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The thread provided was a highway
to bacterial infection

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through the baby's umbilical cord,

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and the blade used was the kind
that men used for shaving,

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and they did not want it
anywhere close to them.

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There was no incentive for anybody
to redesign this product,

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because it was based on charity.

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The women were never
consulted in this process.

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And to my surprise, the need
was not only in homes

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but also in institutional settings
with high-volume births.

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Situations in remote areas
were even more daunting.

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This had to change.

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I made this my area of focus.

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I started the design process
by collecting feedback,

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developing prototypes

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and engaging with various stakeholders
researching global protocols.

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With every single prototype,
we went back to the women

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to ensure that we had a product for them.

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What I learned through this process
was that these women,

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despite their extreme poverty,

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placed great value
on their health and well-being.

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They were absolutely not poor in mind.

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As with all of us, they would appreciate
a well-designed product

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developed for their needs.

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After many iterations
working with experts,

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medical health professionals

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and the women themselves,

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I should say it was not
an easy process at all,

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but we had a simple and beautiful design.

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For a dollar more than what
the existing product was offered for,

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at three dollars, we were able
to deliver "janma,"

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a clean birth kit in a purse.

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Janma, meaning "birth," contained
a blood-absorbing sheet

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for the woman to give birth on,

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a surgical scalpel, a cord clamp,
a bar of soap, a pair of gloves

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and the first cloth
to wipe the baby clean.

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All this came packaged
in a beautiful purse

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that was given to the mother
as a gift after all her hard work,

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that she carried home with pride
as a symbol of prosperity.

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One woman reacted to this gift.

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She said, "Is this really mine?
Can I keep it?"

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The other one said,
"Will you give me a different color

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when I have my next baby?"

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(Laughter)

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Better yet, a woman expressed
that this was the first purse

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that she had ever owned in her life.

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The kit, aside from its symbolism
and its simplicity,

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is designed to follow
globally recommended medical protocol

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and serves as a behavior-change tool
to follow steps one after the other.

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It can not only be used in homes,
but also in institutional settings.

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To date, our kit has impacted
over 600,000 mothers and babies

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around the world.

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It's a humbling experience
to watch these numbers grow,

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and I cannot wait until
we reach a hundred million.

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But women's health issues do not end here.

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There are thousands of simple issues
that require low-cost interventions.

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We have facts to prove
that if we invest in women and girls

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and provide them with better
health and well-being,

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they will deliver healthier and wealthier
and prosperous communities.

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We have to start by bringing simplicity
and dignity to women's health issues:

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from reducing maternal mortality,
to breaking taboos,

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to empowering women
to take control of their own lives.

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This is my dream.

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But it is not possible to achieve it
without engaging men and women alike

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from around the world --

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yes, all of you.

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I recently heard this lyric
by Leonard Cohen:

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"Ring the bells that still can ring.

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Forget your perfect offering.

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There is a crack in everything.

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That's how the light gets in."

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This is my bit of light.

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But we need more light.

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In fact, we need huge spotlights
placed in the world of women's health

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if we need a better tomorrow.

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We should never forget that women
are at the center of a sustainable world,

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and we do not exist without them.

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Thank you.

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(Applause)