Dear Friends, 

Well, it only took 42 years to convince myself to run one... So as you can imagine the cause would have to be a good one. And it is: I have decided to run the London Marathon for Medical Aid Films, a charity created to deliver high quality medical teaching to developing countries through the medium of film. By educating local traditional birth assistants, nurses, midwives, clinical officers and doctors, MAF supports local communities seeking to help themselves.  It harnesses the power of the digital revolution, allowing global best practices in medicine to be transmitted to less developed communities via films which transcend language and cultural differences. In these early stages of its existence, MAF is focusing on best practices around pregnancy and child delivery.

A woman dies in childbirth every 40 seconds around the world. 24% of these deaths are caused by blood loss alone.  In fact, the risk of a woman dying in childbirth or pregnancy is 1 in 16 in Rwanda and 1 in 8,200 in the UK. 75% of all neonatal and maternal deaths, for example, are preventable, though they are rising in certain developing countries.  536,000 Women die in pregnancy even year – more than half of these occur in Africa.

 

MAF is the brainchild of Professor Eric Jauniaux, a fellow Belgian, who is a teaching Professor at University College London (UCL) and a practicing Obstretician at the Portland Hospital in London. MAF have an office in the UK and are launching an ultrasound training initiative in Rwanda.

Eric has inspired Kirsten and me through his vision for Medical Aid Films. I am on the Board of MAF and a strong believer in this cause.  Please visit MAF's website on www.medicalaidfilms.org to learn more about the organization.

This is my first marathon, and whilst I have tried hard to stay in decent shape throughout my career, the preparation for the marathon is clearly a challenging target. But I am very committed to bringing this to a good end, as the cause is worth the pain!

Please support Medical Aid Films through my run this year on April 25th. My goal is to raise GBP 20,000. You can make donations via the following link: http://www.justgiving.com/Michael-De-Lathauwer.