Christy Turlington Burns: Postcard from Tanzania

The first time I saw Africa, I was doing a shoot for a British fashion magazine on a small island off the coast of Mombasa, the Kenyan port city. While the trip was extremely lovely and memorable, it wasn’t quite the Africa I had anticipated. So the following year, I returned, this time to Tanzania. On the flight over, I remember looking out at Mount Kilimanjaro from my airplane window and promising myself: The next time I come back, I will climb that mountain.

That was nearly 20 years ago. Over the years, I did make it back to sub-Saharan Africa several times, spending time in Madagascar, Swaziland, South Africa. I returned to Tanzania and Kenya and stayed with a friend who lived in the Masai Mara, beside a river packed with wild hippos. And yes, I did climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. This year, I decided to make the journey again, to Tanzania—but with a much different purpose. As an advocate for maternal health, I wanted to help ensure that mothers live to see their children grow up.

Exact numbers are hard to come by, but recent surveys suggest that for every 100,000 babies born in Tanzania, nearly 1000 mothers lose their lives in childbirth. Tanzania recognizes the magnitude of the problem; the country’s president, Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, says he is committed to reducing maternal mortality by 75 percent by the year 2015. With the help of development partners like the World Bank and the Swiss government, President Kikwete plans to further educate hundreds of doctors, nurses, and midwives over the next 10 years, and train clinicians to perform emergency services like C-sections.