Washington D.C. – This International Women’s Day, March 8, 2010, ONE will launch Women ONE2ONE, a major new campaign designed to save lives and increase opportunities for  women who live in extreme poverty.  The initiative, which aims to recruit one million people in the coming years, will conduct awareness-raising events and actions during key political moments, push for policies that effectively transform lives and empower members to advocate through online campaigns and social networks.

“Women ONE2ONE is launching at a critical time when there is growing momentum around the need to invest in the world’s women. 1.4 billion people around the world are living in extreme poverty and the vast majority of them are women.  This statistic is shocking, and people taking part in Women ONE2ONE want to do something about it.  Because when women have access to health services, education, and economic opportunities, their children and countries all reap the benefits,” said Cindy McCain, humanitarian, business owner, and board member of non-profit groups Operation Smile and The HALO Trust.

On International Women’s Day, ONE is hosting a photo exhibit on Capitol Hill featuring images from a recent “Listening and Learning Tour” to Ghana and Sierra Leone with a few of Women ONE2ONE’s prominent charter members, including actress Connie Britton and humanitarian Cindy McCain.

“Women ONE2ONE enables women from all walks of life to come together with one voice and be powerful advocates in the movement against extreme poverty. By linking up online, at events around the country, and with ONE’s partners through Women ONE2ONE, we can help provide women in the poorest areas of the world with the tools they need to build the foundation of healthier countries,” said Sheila Nix, ONE’s U.S. Executive Director.

A group of nine prominent women recently participated in a trip, along with a delegation from CARE, to Ghana and Sierra Leone to help inform the campaign.  These charter members of Women ONE2ONE include Cindy McCain), Connie Britton (award-winning actress, currently starring in the television drama Friday Night Lights), Yvonne Chaka Chaka (renowned South-African singer and anti-poverty activist), Maureen Orth (Special Correspondent for Vanity Fair; founder of the Marina Orth Foundation), Dana Perino, White House Press Secretary to President George W. Bush and Fox News contributor) and Maura Keefe (Chief of Staff to U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire).

More than 9,000 ONE members have already pledged to use their voice to take action and go beyond to push for improved policies and increased investments that empower women in the world’s poorest countries.

Women participating in the ONE2ONE campaign will target advocacy efforts in three key areas: reducing women dying in childbirth through better healthcare, ensuring millions more girls get an education, and giving women access to agricultural tools and training to help them feed their families, increase their yields and market their goods to earn extra income.

Every year, more than half a million mothers die from complications during child birth and 8.8 million children die before their fifth birthday. Women in sub-Saharan Africa have a one in 26 chance of dying in childbirth, compared to only one in 4,800 for women in the US. A lack of health care workers, clinics and equipment means many women and children in the developing world  don’t have access to basic health services including immunizations and care for expectant mothers.