The following opinion pieces address issues surrounding child survival and the “Acting on the Call: Ending Preventable Child and Maternal Deaths” meeting that took place on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

GlobalPost: Building on a movement for maternal, newborn, and child survival
Kate Rogers, senior program manager for Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed at UNICEF, and Nicole Schiegg, senior consultant to Speak Up Africa

“…Strengthening the supply of medicines and health care services is, of course, a critical step towards saving mothers, newborns and children from preventable deaths. But, it must be followed by a second step: increasing the public demand for life-saving interventions. … Under the banner of A Promise Renewed, leaders from the private and public sectors are calling on citizens to rally around national strategies for maternal, newborn, and child survival…” (6/25).

Huffington Post: Let’s Use Evidence-Based Interventions to Save the Lives of Children and Mothers
Agnès Binagwaho, minister of health of Rwanda, and Mark Shriver, senior vice president for strategic initiatives at Save the Children

“…The U.S. and African presidents will come together in August to talk about investing in future generations. Together, we have an opportunity to use this summit to accelerate action in Africa to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths worldwide. Our hope is that this summit will increase collaboration between the U.S. and African partners to promote and deliver the most effective interventions and identify new and innovative resources…” (6/25).

Huffington Post: All Parents Deserve to See Their Child’s Fifth Birthday
Carolyn Woo, president of Catholic Relief Services

“…More governments, especially those of the 24 nations that account for 70 percent of maternal and child deaths globally, need to be encouraged to sustain and increase efforts to reduce the staggering number of unnecessary and preventable child deaths. Now is the time to build upon the significant advances in promoting maternal and child health to ensure that no woman or child dies of a preventable death. Achievements that include efficient delivery of child immunizations, bed nets, clean water and sanitation, and quality care at birth must continue and maximize the momentum to achieve these goals…” (6/25).

Huffington Post: U.S. NGOs Investing to Help Children Reach Their 5th Birthday
Samuel Worthington, president of InterAction

“…We have an opportunity: if we invest in these communities, giving parents the tools to raise healthy and productive children, we can sustain the massive decline in child mortality that we have seen over the past two decades. U.S. NGOs will continue their private spending, and stand ready to partner with and support the U.S. government’s investments to let these children reach their fifth birthday” (6/25).