Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday
This week, a high-level forum is gathering in Washington, DC for the Child Survival Call to Action with the goal to mobilize the world to end preventable child deaths.
More than 7 million children will die this year before they reach their fifth birthday.
Thanks to the enormous progress the world has made over the last 50 years in reducing child mortality by 70 percent, we know what needs to be done to save children’s lives. There are high-impact interventions like: preventing early marriage and pregnancies, providing access to appropriate pre- and post-natal care, ensuring clean and safe deliveries, treating sick and low-weight newborns with appropriate care, ensuring proper nutrition during the critical 1,000 days window (more below), improving routine immunization, sanitation and hygiene; and continuing efforts to combat malaria, such as bed nets and indoor spraying.
As USAID Administrator Raj Shah says, “Today, the global community has the knowledge and the affordable tools to change the course of history." The world knows what needs to be done, and it’s time to make it happen.
The Hunger Project’s vision is a world where every woman, man and child leads a healthy, fulfilling life of self-reliance and dignity. Our village partners who participate in The Hunger Project programs throughout the world aim to ensure that children are healthy, well nourished and thrive (find out more).
As an active member of the global 1,000 Days initiative and a participant in the Child Survival Call to Action, The Hunger Project is in complete solidarity with this movement to end preventable child deaths.
On June 14, 2012, The Hunger Project joined dozens of other civil society organizations in a pledge committing to child survival, which was read aloud during the Child Survival Call to Action.
Working with governments and other NGOs, The Hunger Project is committed to sharing our grassroots, women-centered strategies that continue to make a difference in the lives of our village partners and specifically the children.
What You Can Do
- Learn more about The Hunger Project's work to combat childhood malnutrition.
- Read the Civil Society Pledge -- Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, read during the Child Survival Call to Action on Thursday, June 14, 2012.
- Watch excerpts and listen to speakers from the forum.
- Join the fight to end preventable child deaths: Show your support by helping to build USAID’s 5th Birthday photo album, which will be presented to global leaders at the Call to Action event. Post your own 5th birthday photo and share your message of hope through Facebook and Twitter, and e-mail the messages to friends, so they can get involved, too.
- Invest now in The Hunger Project's work to create a world where every woman, man and child leads a health, fulfilling life of self-reliance and dignity.
Photo: David Snyder for The Hunger Project