Committees

Black maternal mortality and healthcare campaigners nominated for Petition Campaign of the Year

24 March 2021

The nominees for the inaugural Petition Campaign of the Year Award have been announced.

Petition Campaign of the Year Award

This year sees the launch of the first ever Petition Campaign of the Year Award.

Given out as part of the annual Your UK Parliament Awards, this Award celebrates the inspiring people who have used petitions started on Parliament's petitions website to build support for their campaigns for change.

The winners of the Award will be selected by the MPs on the Petitions Committee, and will be announced in due course.

The winners will receive a commemorative trophy and all nominees will receive a certificate to celebrate their achievements.

Nominees: Clotilde and Atinuke

Atinuke, from Lambeth, and Clotilde, from Greenwich, first met through their campaigning and joined together to set up the Five X More grassroots organisation.

Clotilde and Atinuke started the petition Improve Maternal Mortality Rates and Health Care for Black Women, which received more than 187,000 signatures.

The petition highlighted that Black women are five times more likely to die during pregnancy and after childbirth than White women. The Petitions Committee has scheduled a debate on the petition for 19 April.

After the Petitions Committee highlighted their petition to the Health and Social Care Committee (HSCC), they were invited to give evidence to the HSCC as part of its wider inquiry into maternity safety. They had never given evidence to a Parliamentary Committee before.

Chairs' comments

Jeremy Hunt, Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee, comments:

"I am absolutely delighted to support Clotilde Abe and Tinuke Awe for the Petition Campaign of the Year award.

"As witnesses, they were articulate, passionate, and thoughtful, and the evidence they gave us about both their own experiences, and the excellent work they are taking forward to improve maternity safety for black women, was extremely valuable to our inquiry."

Catherine McKinnell, Chair of the Petitions Committee, comments

"These campaigns are a testament to the power of petitions to highlight issues that might otherwise not be heard in Parliament.

"The nominees have each demonstrated the impact of organising a successful campaign, building on their petitions by gathering support from the wider public, charities and others who share their concerns.

"Our nominees' passion, determination, and ideas for how to tackle the problems they've set their minds to has been inspiring, and they should all be proud of their achievements."

The other nominees

  • Nell Bevan, Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, Yacoub Yasin and Cynthia Muthoni, for their campaign calling for increased diversity in the national curriculum
  • Ashley Greenwood, for his campaign to allow limited numbers of fans to attend football matches during lockdown
  • Marcus Rashford MBE, for his campaign on the issue of child food poverty
  • James and Jessie Zammit-Garcia, Bethany Power and Emily Tredget, for their campaign on the impact of Covid-19 on maternity and parental leave

What are the Your UK Parliament Awards?

The 4th annual Your UK Parliament Awards recognise the individuals across the UK who have taken democratic action on the issues they care about.

There are six categories, which celebrate individuals, schools, and organisations who have made a difference in their communities and beyond.

Further Information

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