Walton heirs pledge $100 million to cut U.S. maternal deaths by half

Heirs of the Walmart fortune, Olivia and Tom Walton, have pledged $100 million over the next five years to halve maternal mortality in the United States, according to Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies America. The donation will seed state-matching grants, partnerships and infrastructure to draw further public and private investment. Olivia Walton, who founded the organization in May, says most maternal deaths are preventable and that existing solutions need broader funding.

The effort focuses on early care, extended postpartum support and rural obstetric readiness, and backs two bipartisan Senate bills: the Rural Obstetrics Readiness Act and the NIH IMPROVE Act. Data from the CDC show the U.S. rate remains near 19 deaths per 100,000 live births, with Black women facing a rate over three times higher than white women. Reducing preventable deaths could save roughly $80 billion annually.