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Not so benign neglect
Susan McCue and Charles F. MacCormack
Washington Times, Nov 7, 2007

Kamrul Hassan recognized the signs. The fever, coughing and rapid breathing that afflicted his two-year old daughter, Sweety, were the same symptoms that killed his toddler son three years before. The 35-year-old farmer and father of three in rural Bangladesh knew his daughter needed help, and fast.

With the support of the American people, Sweety got the help that wasn’t available to her brother. She was taken to see Montaj, a volunteer health worker in her village who had been trained through a USAID-funded program to diagnose and treat childhood illnesses like diarrhea and pneumonia, two of the top killers of young children in Bangladesh.

Sweety was diagnosed with pneumonia and given antibiotics, provided by the government of Bangladesh at a cost of a little more than 30 cents a treatment. Just a day later, Sweety was on the mend. She was fortunate; millions more children aren’t as lucky. In fact, nearly 10 million children under 5 die each year from preventable or treatable causes like pneumonia and diarrhea.

Americans are a generous people. When we see tragedy unfold before us, we want to help….

Please read the full article on the Washington Times’ site.