International Medical Corps was awarded The 2014 CLASSY Award in the category of Disaster Relief and Public Safety programs.
In partnership with the United Nations Foundation, the CLASSY Awards highlight the greatest champions of social progress. The largest social impact awards ceremony in the United States, CLASSY nominees represent an elite pool of high- impact organizations that are driving measurable, social change around the world.
“On behalf of International Medical Corps it is a pleasure and an honor to accept The CLASSY Award. As a global First Responder, International Medical Corps has been saving lives and relieving suffering through health care and training for 30 years,” said Rebecca Milner, Vice President Institutional Advancement, International Medical Corps. “Whether it’s responding to a natural disaster, delivering assistance to those displaced by violence and conflict, or assisting a mother through a difficult childbirth — no matter where, no matter what the conditions, we’re there.”
From May 2-3, 2014, The CLASSY Awards convened top leaders from the social sector in San Diego to connect in an environment that drives collaboration around solving social problems. In accepting the award, Milner highlighted the value of training to build self-reliance worldwide with particular focus on training midwives in Afghanistan. In the U.S. 1 in 8,000 women dies in childbirth; in Afghanistan, 1 in 22 die. But if a pregnant woman has a trained birth attendant at her side, her chances of dying are reduced by 70%. International Medical Corps has trained 2,000 midwives in Afghanistan to date, each able to reach 330 women in her community with lifesaving maternal health care – that’s 660,000 women reached each year.