The study, which was spearheaded by the advocacy group Save the Children and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, comes as the Obama administration, India and Ethiopia prepare to host a summit in Washington that will focus on bolstering efforts to reduce the number of children younger than 5 who die from preventable ailments. The world is far off track in achieving one of the Millennium Development Goals set in 2000 - of reducing preventable child deaths by 66 percent by 2015 - but U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Raj Shah told USA TODAY he hasn't given up hope of reaching the target.
"This meeting is about that acceleration," Shah said. "It's about looking at the evidence, making the tough calls and doing things much differently and engaging a much broader set of partners so that we can accelerate progress."
UNICEF said in a report last week that pneumonia and diarrhea are two of the leading killers - accounting for 29 percent of deaths among children under age 5 worldwide - and said the global community should increase its focus on those diseases.
"Deaths due to these diseases are largely preventable through optimal breast-feeding practices and adequate nutrition, vaccinations, hand-washing with soap, safe drinking water and basic sanitation, among other measures," the report said.
Shah said the global community needs to do more on all fronts to reduce the yawning death toll. Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Democratic Republic of Congo - five countries that account for nearly half of all preventable deaths of children under 5 - are expected to announce a series of initiatives and new policies at this week's meeting in Washington. Performance needs to improve dramatically among these countries in order to get back on track, Shah said. Full story can be found here.
CMDA Senior Vice President Gene Rudd, MD: "It takes a wide range of interventions to decrease the death rate in under age five mortality including good prenatal and pregnancy care, childhood immunizations, clean water, breastfeeding education, good nutrition, adequate sanitation, malaria prevention and more. Mission and church health programs have had a huge impact already in this area and are the most trusted source of information in many countries. More needs to be done. That is why CMDA was a signatory to the Interfaith Child Survival Pledge and has been working with USAID in its Saving Lives at Birth program."But more than just good ideas and new programs, the greatest need is more personnel. Through the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, Kentucky, student rotation scholarships, resource development, publications and speaking opportunities, CMDA is a prime mover in a medical mission renaissance on campuses. The Center for Medical Missions is now mentoring more than 1,300 students and residents who want to serve overseas long-term. Each September, we bring missionary organization executives together for a “Mission Summit” to exchange ideas, analyze research and strategizing.
“Motivated by the love Christ, we can be proud of CMDA and its many members who sacrifice to meet the needs of the less fortunate of the world, especially these young children.”
Global Health Outreach
Global Health Relief
Medical Education International
Pan-African Academy of Christian Surgeons
No comments:
Post a Comment