A supermodel travelled to the Ivory Coast as part of a charity mission to end preventable child deaths.
Karen Elson visited the west African country with Save the Children to meet with mothers whose children are dying from curable illnesses such as malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.
Ms Elson, who is a mother of two, saw first-hand the conditions children face when they become ill and spoke with mothers who had lost several children from ailments which are easily treatable back home.
The 36-year-old supermodel said: “To look at a mother who has lost her child from a disease that can be vaccinated against is very tragic.
“I saw the reality here and the reality is that kids die from illnesses we can prevent.
“All I can do now is convey how necessary Save the Children’s work is; they really do help, they really do change things and I can’t wait to tell people what I saw in order to make sure that no child is born to die.”
Ms Elson travelled to Cote D’Ivoire ahead of a UN Summit in New York on September 25 in which Save the Children will call on world leaders to set a goal to end preventable child deaths by 2030.
To sign a public petition, visit savethechildren.org.uk.