Olivia Walton pledges $100 million to halve U.S. maternal deaths within five years
Walmart heiress Olivia Walton announced a $100 million commitment through her nonprofit Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America to cut the U.S. maternal mortality rate by 50% over the next five years.
Olivia Walton, heir to the Walmart fortune and CEO of Ingeborg Investments, launched Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America in April and committed $100 million to halve U.S. maternal mortality within five years. Drawing on her personal struggle with postpartum care in Arkansas, she noted the state's mortality rate is roughly double the national average and three times higher for Black and brown women. The initiative will allocate $10 million each to Arkansas and Kansas and employ a mix of storytelling, advocacy, coalition-building and catalytic grants.
Walton cautioned that upcoming Medicaid reductions and changes in AMA billing could exacerbate the problem, and she called on businesses to improve pregnancy and postpartum benefits while expanding the midwife and doula workforce. The effort aims to generate bipartisan political will to address the maternal health crisis.
Why it matters
A major private pledge could dramatically reduce maternal deaths and influence health policy across the United States.
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