Lupita Nyong’o for Mother Health International (May 2016)

Race, class, and gender divides in post-war Uganda have kept pregnant women and children from accessing maternal healthcare. For almost ten years, Lupita Nyong’o has made it her mission to break down these issues by joining the team of midwives, doctors, activists, and academics from Mother Health International. Their goal is to provide reproductive healthcare and reduce mortality in areas of extreme poverty. Lupita supports the ‘Midwives on Bikes’ program where midwives in rural areas offer prenatal care and transport to women to and from clinics. Their success in combating infant mortality has matched the low mortality rates in the United States. Mother Health International not only operates in Uganda but trains midwives all over the world, including in Lupita’s native Kenya. Her support and storytelling have brought this crisis to the forefront so that women can receive the healthcare that is their basic human right.