Contest: REAL Awards

Save the Children is sponsoring The REAL Awards, a first-of-its-kind global awards program designed to develop greater respect and appreciation for health workers and the lifesaving care they provide globally, as well as in the United States. The REAL Awards is made possible by the support of presenting sponsors Medtronic Foundation, The Merck Company Foundation, and Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare, and supporting partners GlaxoSmithKline, Novartis and Time Inc.

By some estimates, the world is short more than 5 million health workers, including one million frontline health workers. This shortage of easily accessible health workers is acute for rural settings in both developing countries and in the U.S. Frontline health workers are often community health workers and midwives who provide access to healthcare locally or in the home, although they can also include local pharmacists, nurses and doctors. In the developing world, where well-equipped doctors and hospitals are scarce, frontline health workers are the first and often only point of contact to the health care system for millions of people.

The public can read the inspirational stories of the international REAL Awards honorees and nominate a health worker in the United States at www.theREALawards.com until November 29, 2012. Winners will be announced the week of January 13, 2013 during a time when much of the American public is tuning in to traditional entertainment awards shows such as the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.

Save the Children is the leading, independent organization that creates lasting change for children in need in the United States and 120 countries around the world. Follow them on Twitter and Facebook.