Why You're Needed

We Know the Problem: Children Are Dying Needlessly

Half of all deaths in the developing world are experienced by children younger than five, even though they make up less than 15% of the total world population. Each year, 7.6 million children die before their fifth birthdays – with pneumonia being the greatest cause.

There are promising and proven programs underway in poor nations to provide much needed health interventions – including vaccine drives, health education, and nutritional supplements. Investments in prevention and treatment are bearing fruit – from 2010, to 2012, seven million children have gained access to new-generation vaccines.

We Know the Answer: Existing Solutions Require Expansion

Preventable diseases and lack of access to simple health interventions kill over 5 million children each year, even though vaccines, antibiotics and other treatments could protect them.

Using pneumonia as an example, in developing countries:

  • only 54 percent of children with pneumonia are taken to qualified health care providers
  • only 19 percent of children under five with clinical signs of pneumonia receive antibiotics

Treatments and preventative measures aren’t costly:

  • one measles vaccine costs less than $.25
  • one life-saving pneumonia vaccine costs less than $5,
  • one complete treatment of effective antibiotics costs less than $1.

With increased funding to allow accelerated, scaled-up implementation of key interventions, 67 percent of child pneumonia deaths could be averted by 2015, saving 5.3 million lives over 5 years.

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