The name Global Health Promise reflects that this is a global issue: millions of mothers and their children are trafficked and sexually exploited around the world, both in developed and developing countries. We estimate that 30 million mothers and their children are the victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. To put this number in perspective, if all of these mothers and their children were in one place it would be the 29th most populous country in the world, between the populations of Peru and Canada.

These mothers and their children suffer from serious health problems; many of these mothers will be infected with HIV, experience life-threatening complications during pregnancy and childbirth, and suffer from physical and sexual abuse. The health of the mothers directly affects the health of their children, resulting in transmission of HIV and complications among newborns such as congenital birth defects and low birth weight. Beyond the physical harm, many of these mothers and their children also suffer from severe mental health problems.

During a meeting in 2007 with a group of prostituted mothers in Kathmandu, Nepal, Brian heard the horror stories about what happens to them and their children. At the end of the meeting they said they were glad to be finally talking about something that matters to them: their children. They then asked him to promise that he would keep working on this issue.