Australian supporters, creators and advocates are joining a global movement calling for safe births for every mother, as WaterAid launches its Time to Deliver maternal health campaign, exposing the stark reality that in the world’s least developed countries, a woman gives birth every two seconds without clean water.
To mark the International Day of the Midwife, the campaign draws on photography, filmed interviews, and newly released global case studies spanning 13 countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Australia, Japan, Ghana, the UK, and Canada, revealing the human stories behind this crisis and capturing the experiences of women, mothers, and healthcare workers preparing for childbirth in vastly different conditions.
Australia is playing a key role in elevating the campaign, with early engagement from media, health advocates and digitally engaged audiences helping to bring attention to one of the most urgent but preventable global health issues of our time.
The campaign highlights a devastating inequality. While the universality of motherhood shines through in commonly packed items such as baby clothes, blankets and water bottles or vessels, the contents of each bag offer a powerful insight into the delivery room that awaits, exposing a deep injustice shaping maternal health globally.
Globally, a woman gives birth every two seconds without adequate water, sanitation and hygiene, exposing more than 16 million women each year to preventable, life threatening infections, complications and even death for both mothers and newborns. In some settings, women must bring buckets to collect water, razor blades to cut umbilical cords, and plastic sheets, bleach and soap as essential safeguards against infection in facilities where these basics are unavailable.
In contrast, Australian maternity bags typically include essentials such as baby clothing, breast pads and personal care items, prepared with the expectation that clean water and safe, hygienic healthcare environments are a given.
Through powerful photography, filmed interviews and digital storytelling, WaterAid is inviting mothers to share what they pack and why, revealing both the universality of motherhood and the unequal realities of birth across the world.
Australian and global creator and influencer content will also support the campaign, including faces such as leading pediatrician Dr. Golly & Tully Smyth, helping drive awareness, engagement and signatures for WaterAid’s global petition calling for urgent investment in clean water, sanitation and hygiene in healthcare facilities. WaterAid Australia is calling on the public to join the movement and help ensure every mother, everywhere, can give birth safely.
WaterAid Australia’s CEO Tom Muller said, “This campaign highlights a critical truth: access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene is fundamental to safe childbirth, yet for too many women it remains out of reach. In one in five health facilities, the absence of these basics means midwives cannot wash their hands or properly sterilise equipment, putting both mothers and newborns at serious risk. As a result, women are forced to bring their own water, disinfectant or protective materials just to give birth safely. No woman’s chance of a healthy delivery should depend on whether these essential services are available.”
The Time to Deliver campaign is backed by WaterAid’s global network and builds on the success of previous creator-led initiatives, harnessing storytelling, lived experience and digital platforms to drive collective action on maternal health inequality.
Despite progress in global health, hundreds of millions of people still lack access to clean water, and women and newborns continue to be disproportionately affected.
Ahead of the UN Water Conference in December, WaterAid is calling on governments and the public to act now to ensure clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene are available in every maternal health facility, so every birth is safe, dignified and free from preventable risk.
