Child Mortality: What You Can Do to Stop It
Every Day, thousands of children Die. We must all play a part in our children’s future.
Office of the President of the United States
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President,
RE: Letter in support of Global Child Survival Act 2008 (H.R2266, S. 1418)
Most American parents don’t experience the unimaginable pain of having to bury their own children. In developing countries, 4 million babies die before they reach one month. This equates to the amount of babies that are born in the US each year. 30,000 children under 5 die ever day – 10 million annually. This number of children is approximately the same as everyone in New Jersey. Preventable diseases like measles and tetanus kill over 1 million children annually. Millions of children are suffering as a result of treatable inflictions. The world must put an end to this abomination.
Diminishing the amount of child mortality is simple: Global Child Survival Act 2008. Enacting this bill will hopefully reduce child mortality by 2/3 by 2015. By reserving $600 million in 2008 and working towards $1.6 billion by 2011, child mortality will be reduced significantly. Currently, less than 0.5% of the federal budget goes to global assistance. Passing this bill will reduce these preventable deaths.
International aid has proven to be an effective and inexpensive means of addressing global child mortality. 15 cents can buy antibiotics to treat pneumonia, or immunize a child against six major diseases. Affordable materials like vaccines, drugs to treat infections, bed nets to prevent malaria and oral rehydration can save millions. A Vitamin A capsule, costing 2 cents, can protect children from blindness or death. The implementation of these simple, affordable measures will save millions.
I urge you to stop and imagine for a moment how these parents feel, burying their children. Help is needed: Pass the Global Child Survival Act.
Yours sincerely,
An active citizen of the world.
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