One area of development that is near and dear to my heart is child survival. As a mother of two children and a world traveler, I’ve seen firsthand the poverty and pain that many mothers around the world face by protecting their children and giving them everything they can to help them survive.
Often when I work with these children and their mothers, and I learn more about some of the devastating obstacles that stand in the way to raising a healthy, happy child, my heart gets broken. You see, my children were born in the United States to two educated parents who have the ability to ensure they receive good nutrition, safe drinking water and proper sanitation, education, immunizations and health care. Sometimes I scratch my head in disbelief realizing how lucky we are to live in a place where we take these fundamental rights for granted.
I believe strongly that it is our moral obligation to ensure other people around the world have the same opportunities at a healthy life as we do. Yes, the task is incredibly daunting and immense. But we can change things.
One statistic that we can change and have changed is child survival. Over the past few decades, we have made tremendous progress for ensuring children under five survive by such simple things as promoting exclusive breastfeeding for newborns, providing immunizations and safe water and sanitation, and increasing availability of nutritious foods and antibiotics for children and their families.
However, despite this progress we still have a long way to go in ensuring no children die from preventable causes and we are coming up short at reaching the Millennium Development Goal 4 as stated in UNICEF’s new report “Committing to Child Survival: A Promised Renewed“:
Although we have made huge progress and have saved nearly 90 million lives over the past two decades, we are 13 years behind schedule in reaching MDG 4. That means 35 million children will die from now until 2028 – children whose lives could have been saved if we kept our promise and reached MDG 4 by 2015.
I know that I’m going to do whatever I can to spread awareness on child survival and hopefully the world can come together to help protect our most sacred human beings: Our children.
My son and daughter getting ready for the first day of school on 8/26
To learn more:  Download the report for more information and visit UNICEF to see how you can help.
- Melinda’s Gates : The Most Important Statistic in the World
- Jennifer James of Mom Bloggers for Social Good: Why Child Survival Rates Continue to ImproveÂ
Reblogged this on The Quality Life.
The figures are awful aren’t they, Nicole?
Your two look gorgeous! School going ok? 🙂
Thanks Jo! Yes figures are scary but also so glad they have improved. Kids are doing great. I’m so lucky they are both really fast learners and both love to read just like their mom! 🙂
Reblogged this on Life, Love and Adventure.
Thank you for an informative and moving post.
You’re welcome! Really glad you enjoyed. My heart goes out to all these lovely kids.
This is a great post. You have addressed a need of the hour issue issue. Yes as moms we should work on this to spread awareness and to help protect children around world.
Yes we do. Thanks for your support too! 🙂
And to remain safe from abuse. I attended the second day of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses
to Child Sexual Abuse, here, in Sydney last week. Justice Peter McClellan AM said in his opening statement,
“In my role as a judge, I have been called upon to review many of the sentences imposed upon people convicted of the sexual abuse of children, but I readily acknowledge that until I began my work with the Commission I did not adequately appreciate the devastating and long-lasting effect which sexual abuse, however inflicted, can have on an individual’s life.” The life-long negative consequences for an abused person are many, and the statistics in Australia alone are horrifying.
Your photos are wonderful.
Thank you. Yes, there is so much work to be done. We need to teach our boys to honor girls and women and treat them with dignity. A long way to go even in the western world.