Washington, D.C. — ONE: The Campaign to Make Poverty History congratulated Representative Betty McCollum (D-MN) and Representative Chris Shays (R-CT) for introducing the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act, HR 2266, today. The legislation comes one week after the release of the latest Save the Children’s State of the World’s Mothers Report, which outlined what the United States could do to save more children’s lives.

The bi-partisan U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act promotes the use of effective, affordable preventative measures such as immunization, antibiotics, clean drinking water and vitamin supplements to save the lives of almost 30,000 children under age 5 that die each day from preventable and or treatable diseases such as diarrhea, pneumonia and measles.

“Governments of developing and donor nations alike must be motivated to make the necessary investment in children who are voiceless and powerless. The millions of Americans that are members of the ONE Campaign give these children a voice,” Susan McCue, President and CEO of the ONE Campaign, said. “The Representatives in Congress that worked together to introduce this legislation not only heard those that are speaking on behalf of these children but are taking action in response, introducing a bill that invests in the health, well-being and productivity of children who are right now without hope.”

The following Representatives are original co-sponsors of HR 2266: Blumenauer, Crowley, Ellison, Grijalva, Honda, Jackson-Lee, Jefferson, McDermott, McGovern, Olver, Payne, Reichert, Shays, Snyder, Watson and Woolsey.

Background

About 10.6 million children under age five will die in 2007 – greater than the number of adults who will die from AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Inexpensive, effective interventions that target common illnesses and malnutrition could prevent more than two-thirds of all child deaths. For example, in just six years, measles vaccinations reduced child deaths due to measles by 60 percent, from 875,000 in 1999 to 345,000 in 2005.

Malnutrition contributes to 53 percent of all child deaths, weakening the ability of children to fend off illness. Pneumonia and diarrhea are major killers, causing 36 percent of child deaths and 29 percent of neonatal deaths. Funding to address these specific causes is largely absent.

Millions of surviving children suffer from physical stunting, intellectual impairment, and blindness as a result of infectious disease and malnutrition. These children will do less well in school and will be less economically productive in later life than healthy children.