I’m excited to be involved for the first time in Save the Children’s annual Advocacy Day program in Washington (June 11-12). Particularly at a time when the world food crisis threatens to push more people – especially vulnerable children in the developing world – back into poverty, this event gives us all an opportunity to do something for those children and their families.

Did you know that over 10 million children die yearly from preventable or treatable diseases and low cost solutions can do something about it? That’s 26,000 children a day! AIDS and malaria are killing only a small proportion. Most die of diarrhea, pneumonia, and measles. Four million of these deaths occur to newborns – less than one month old – in villages in Africa and Asia. That’s not right, especially since there are low cost solutions that can prevent these deaths from happening.

Save the Children is going to focus its June program on building support for the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act (H.R. 2266, S.1418). This legislation will strengthen American’s role in saving the lives of children and mothers in the world’s poorest countries by investing in low-cost, highly effective, lifesaving interventions such as vitamins, antibiotics and vaccines.

Already over 100 Senators and Representatives from both parties support this bill, but more must be done to get this legislation passed. We need to come together and tell Congress to provide more help for these children and families in countries like Nigeria, Congo, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Afghanistan.

If you want to make a difference for these kids like I do, join us June 11-12 in our call for change & reserve a spot today; register at www.savethechildren.org/advocacyday2008. If you have any questions, please email me at advocacyday@savechildren.org.

Advocacy Days is a terrific opportunity for us to make a difference by letting our elected officials know there is a voice calling for lasting change in the lives of children in need.

-Ryan Quinn, Save the Children