‘Politics not poverty kills 24,000 children every day’ says aid agency
25th May 2010, Dublin- A new report by international aid agency World Vision, says simple life-saving measures like hand washing with soap, oral rehydration solutions for 30c, and mosquito nets could save the lives of 6 million children in some of the poorest countries every year.
Speaking at the launch of the report Child Health Now, World Vision Ireland CEO Helen Keogh said, “It is politics not poverty that is killing children. Saving six million children each year is achievable, but not without the political will to make it happen.”
“When hundreds die in a disaster, it is considered an emergency. But when 24,000 children die every day from largely preventable causes, it is not considered one. This is the biggest human rights and child rights violation of all times and we need to do more to address it.” added Ms Keogh.
According to the World Vision report almost nine million children a year die before their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria. Nearly all these deaths (99%) take place in the developing world.
However, another report from US researchers released over the weekend claims the number of deaths of children under 5 has plummeted from 11.9 million in 1990 to 7.7 million in 2010.
“The latest figures from the US are encouraging and show that success is possible. Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world but has halved child deaths since 1990 by investing in simple preventative measures, like distributing mosquito nets and increasing the number of traditional birth attendants” explained Ms Keogh.
World Vision, which works with children and communities in 98 countries, has launched a 5 year global advocacy campaign called Child Health Now to address the alarming situation.
The agency aims to ensure that government leaders deliver on their commitments to reduce child mortality by two-thirds by 2015.
This target, which equates to saving the lives of six million children each year, is also known as Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 and is part an agreed set of targets for the international community to achieve by 2015 to improve the lives of the world’s poorest people
Contact
Tressan McCambridge, Communications and Advocacy Manager World Vision Ireland on 087 295 9344