
Health as a Human Right
Citizen-Led Accountability
Women-Centered Care
Quality, Equity & Dignity
History & Mission
White Ribbon Alliance formed in 1999 out of the realization that too often the voices of women and families in countries with poor maternal health policies and systems were not being heard and progress was inequitable and unacceptably slow. We set out to do things differently, challenging the power structures that maintain the status quo and reclaiming the rights of all women, by creating a tidal wave of change for every woman, everywhere.
Challenge
Every day, 830 women die from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth; every year, 2.7 million babies die during their first 28 days of life and 2.6 million are stillborn. These deaths bring social and economic hardship to individuals, families, communities and countries. Most are preventable.
Solution
WRA educates and empowers people around their reproductive, maternal and newborn health and rights, including their right to participate in decisions affecting their healthcare. We simultaneously directly influence decision-makers and support them to respond to citizen demands. Combined, this accelerates progress so that all women and girls realize their right to quality health and well-being.
Current Campaign
Through active engagement with a wide range of partners, WRA creates new opportunities to raise citizen voices with global audiences, which reinforces global efforts and bolsters WRA National Alliance campaigns.
Our Impact
- Increased numbers of health care providers available
- Embedded respectful maternity care as the standard of practice
- Pioneered citizen-led accountability efforts
- Supported women and communities to know their rights and demand action
- Supported policy makers to respond to citizens’ demands
- Increased health budgets, leading to availability of emergency services for women and newborns
- Increased focus on quality of care in policy and practice
Gallery
Thank you to our partners
Averting Maternal Death and Disability
Bayer Consumer Care
Bill and Melina Gates Foundation
Care
Center for Reproductive Rights
Change
Every Woman Every Child
FCI Program of MSH
Frontline Health Workers Association
Global Health Advocacy Incubator
Global Health Council
Guttmacher Institute
Health Policy Project
International Confederation of Midwives
Jhpiego
Maternal Health Task Force
MacArthur Foundation
The Palladium Group
PATH
Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health
Reproductive Health Supplies Coalition
Save the Children
UNFPA
UNICEF
USAID
Women Deliver
World Bank
World Health Organization
World Vision
Contact Us

BETSY MCCALLON
Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer of White Ribbon Alliance, Betsy McCallon is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the organization and developing plans, a dynamic team and resources to deliver it. Betsy joined White Ribbon Alliance in 2004 and has contributed to the growth of the Alliance from a loose network to a driver for global attention and commitments to reproductive and maternal health and rights with a focus on national advocacy and accountability. Betsy is a global spokesperson and champion for citizen participation and empowerment to advance health and rights; she regularly contributes to publications, speaks at key events, and serves on numerous coalitions and Boards. Betsy has lived and worked in sub-Saharan Africa and Central America and worked in more than 20 countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America. When she’s not working, Betsy spends much of her time outdoors - cycling, exploring the city and watching soccer.

Kimberly Whipkey
Advocacy Manager
Kimberly Whipkey joined White Ribbon Alliance in October 2018 as an Advocacy Manager where she oversees the Alliance’s accountability program portfolio. Kimberly has more than 12 years of experience in policy, advocacy, accountability, and communications related to global and domestic health. Most recently, she served as Senior Policy and Advocacy Officer at PATH responsible for developing and implementing strategies to advance sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health policy and advocacy goals in PATH’s program countries. In a prior role at PATH, Kimberly was an advocacy and communications specialist with the Protection Options for Women Product Development Partnership, where she led innovative advocacy initiatives to expand access to female condoms. Before PATH, she oversaw grassroots advocacy to strengthen U.S. foreign policy on sexual and reproductive health and rights at the Center for Health and Gender Equity and led community mobilization to advance state-level reproductive health policy at Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in Maine. Kimberly has supported projects and staff in Bangladesh, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, India, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. She received an MPH from George Mason University and a BA in sociology and women and gender studies from Bates College.
In her free time, Kimberly enjoys running and hiking, reading dystopian novels, and chasing her toddler around.
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