Encourage President Obama to Move Child Survival to the Top of the International Agenda

Every year in developing countries around the world, over 9 million children under the age of five die from preventable and treatable diseases. Please tell President Obama to do more to help these children survive by increasing support for maternal, newborn and child health programs.

Subject:

Dear Mr. President,

(Edit Letter Below)

Thank you for your bold leadership at the recent G8 summit. As one concerned about plight of millions of children in need around the world, the $20 billion food security initiative you encouraged summit leaders to adopt extends a helping hand to those children and their families and provides a leg up out of poverty for small farmers.

The world's poorest children had nothing to do with the current global financial crisis, but they are the ones who increasingly pay its price with their futures, and even their lives. American leadership to help them is very welcomed.

With over 9 million children under the age of five dying each year of largely preventable causes, I hope you will do more. Your global health initiative announced in May, which its emphasis on maternal and child health, is a good start. Over the coming year, I hope you will both double U.S. funding for child survival programs and work to ensure that when G8 leaders next gather in Canada in 2010, they will adopt an initiative for saving the world's children as dramatic as this year's on food security. It will take your decisive leadership to ensure that proven, low-cost programs that can help mothers and children -- such as the ones you saw in Ghana, for example, -- will be made available to vulnerable families everywhere.

Sincerely,
[Your name]
[Your address]

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