Welcome to Wednesday! Let’s see what’s in the non-profit and local news …
The US Maternal Health Crisis: 14 Numbers You Need To Know — Mother’s Day is this coming Sunday and at Amnesty International, “we’re honoring mothers by fighting for maternal health.” As an update to last year’s report on maternal health in the US, Amnesty has also released some striking numbers: “49: The number of countries that have lower maternal mortality ratios than the US” and “2x: Women living in low-income areas across the US were 2 times as likely to suffer a maternal death.”
Mapping DC’s Food Deserts — Do look over the US Department of Agriculture‘s map of food deserts (low income areas without grocery store access) published on DCentric yesterday: “About 18,000 DC residents live in food deserts … In one such food desert, 39 percent of residents are children. And although Prince George’s County … has more food deserts, DC’s deserts have a higher concentrations of children.” The article also points out that the health problems are two-fold: “Violence and the perception of violence creates environments in which children and adults are less likely to go outside, walk, bike and generally be active.”