Take Action: The Child Survival Act

Aug 24th, 2007 8:59 AM UTC
By Virginia Simmons

Years ago, I lost my newborn son to an infection for want of a readily available antibiotic. No child should suffer this fate. Yet, every year, nearly 10 million children under the age of 5 die from completely preventable causes.

It doesn’t have to be like this. We have the power to save these children’s lives.

There is a bill in Congress right now that would provide some of the much needed money to save these children, but it’s currently at a standstill. In order to move, the bill desperately needs the political support that ONE members like you and me can bring to bear.

Please send a message to your member of Congress to support the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act and build support for this desperately needed life-saving bill.

These children die from a variety of causes, from pneumonia to malnutrition and diarrhea. For us, diarrhea is a nuisance. For a child in the developing world, it is a death sentence. In 2007 it is estimated that 1.8 million children will die from dehydration due to diarrhea. In many cases, all that it takes to re-hydrate these children to save their lives is a handful of sugar, a bottle of clean water, and a pinch of salt.

Sadly, there is one more ingredient needed to save these children: the will to do it. The Global Child Survival Act is an expression of that will. It would dramatically scale up funding for effective and affordable child and maternal health programs and it would require the government to develop a comprehensive plan for improving children’s health around the world.

Please write both your senators and representative and let them know that you want them to do their part and help move this bill forward.

Right now while Congress is in recess, some of us have been going on lobbying visits to our local congressional offices, and talking about the Global Child Survival Act. That’s been a great step forward, but we all can do more. If you send a message now, you’ll drive home the message we have been delivering in person, so that when Congress reconvenes in September, the Global Child Survival Act will be high on the list of priorities.

Thank you. I can’t tell you how much your support means to me.

Stay close,

Sammi, Seattle, WA, ONE member

TAGS: Children's Health, Growth Act