New statistics highlight progress, need for continued action

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:   September 13, 2007

Washington - The drop in child deaths below 10 million a year shows investing in child survival programs is paying off, while further investment in these programs can lead to achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of cutting child deaths by two-thirds by 2015, Global Action for Children (GAC) said Thursday.

The statement comes in response to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) report Thursday that deaths for children under age five worldwide have fallen by almost one quarter (24 percent) since 1990 - the base year for the MDGs.

According to GAC, part of this success can be attributed to increased investments by wealthy nations in child survival activities in developing countries. The United States Congress has expanded child survival funding in its foreign assistance budget from $50 million a year in the mid-1980s to $356 million in 2007.

"Congressional leadership, and the work of international organizations and NGOs in developing and implementing low-cost, high-impact solutions, have saved these children’s lives," said Leila Nimatallah, GAC’s policy director. "I encourage critics who believe development assistance is ineffective and a waste of money to talk to the millions of children who are alive today because of it."

While encouraging, Thursday’s report is a reminder that there is still considerable room for improvement. Pneumonia and diarrhea remain among the leading causes of death for children under 5, taking 1.8 and 1.6 million children’s lives each year, respectively, but they are easy and relatively inexpensive to treat. The report also noted that progress was minimal in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia, highlighting a need to concentrate efforts in those areas.

As Congress completes work on the FY2008 spending bills, the House and Senate will soon meet to work out differences in the 2008 foreign aid bill. One of those differences will have a major role in determining if this progress in saving children’s lives will continue: the Senate has approved $476 million for child survival and maternal health, while the House has only approved $379 million.

"Considering drugs to treat pneumonia cost only 27 cents, and six cents can provide one packet of oral rehydration salts to treat a child for severe dehydration and diarrhea, a difference of $97 million is a big one," Nimatallah said. "The success of child survival efforts reported today should be the only reason Congress needs to invest at the $476 million level."

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Global Action for Children is a nonpartisan, results-oriented coalition dedicated to advocating for orphans and other vulnerable children in the developing world. GAC aims to increase the level of funding by the governments of the wealthy countries for orphans and other vulnerable children in some of the poorest countries of the world.

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