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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 till
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)