The Daily Tell

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded a $41 million grant to Concern Worldwide to help improve the health of newborns, children, and their mothers in six different countries.

The grant, which will be bestowed to the organization over the course of five years, will help fund its initiative to improve conditions for child birthing while providing essential services that they may be lacking. The program will also include help and input from health workers and members of academia, the local community, the private sector and civil society.

The first two countries that the initiative will begin in will be Malawi, India and Sierra Leone where complications relating to child birth are common. According to Concern Worldwide’s website, one in every 18 women die during pregnancy or child birth in Malawi, while two-thirds of parent and their children lack needed health and nutrition services. In Sierra Leone, over 25 percent of children die before their fifth birthday.

The other three countries that will receive services from the grant will be determined at a later time.

"This project is all about discovering and testing new ideas. It requires good leadership, an extraordinary team, prudent risk taking, and a relentless commitment to improving the state of our world," said Tom Arnold, the CEO of Concern Worldwide. "That’s a cornerstone of our organization and that is why we exist. We’re delighted to have this opportunity."

Started in Biafra in 1968 as Africa Concern, Concern Worldwide now works to provide aid in 28 eight of the world’s poorest countries, according to its website.

The Bill and Melinda Foundation, which was founded in 1994 to address global health and community needs in the Pacific Northwest according to its website, was recently awarded the Indira Ghandi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for its philanthropic work.