Think back to how excited you were to celebrate your little boy’s first birthday, or your daughter’s first day of school. There are milestone all families should be able to cherish, no matter where in the world they reside.
We’ve made remarkable progress: In 2018, 5.3 million children under five died, compared to 12.5 million in 1990. But that’s still 15,000 kids dying every day.[1]
Evidence-based nonprofits like Living Goods and Development Media International deliver life-saving interventions — from medical supplies to health education – to families with children who need help the most.
Imagine you live in a place where malaria is pervasive. The rainy season is approaching and the chances of your children contracting malaria are extremely high. You know there’s medicine that can protect them for the entire season — and it only costs US$4.25. But that medicine isn’t available in your community. What do you do?
Malaria kills over 261,000 children every year — the equivalent of a jumbo jet carrying only kids crashing every single day.
Supporting charities like Malaria Consortium and Against Malaria Foundation help bring malaria prevention resources to regions like sub-Saharan Africa, home to nearly 90% of the children who die from malaria each year. [2] [3]
What would you do if the only source of transportation in your community was also the second leading cause of death for children ages 5–14? Would you let your kids use it? What if it was the only way for them to get to school?
One of the largest — and growing — epidemics on the global health scene today is traffic accidents.
There’s an effective and low-cost way to prevent road deaths: stickers in public transportation vehicles that encourage passengers to speak up against reckless driving directly to their drivers. Donating to charities like Zusha! means more stickers get into more vehicles — and save more lives. [4]
Can you imagine not being able to feed your children? You love them, you work hard to provide for them. You might even give them food to eat every day. But because you live in a poverty-stricken area with limited access to nutritious foods, they don’t get the right micronutrients, and still end up cognitively impaired.
Micronutrient malnutrition is the leading cause of preventable intellectual and developmental disabilities in the world.
The body requires vitamins and minerals like iron, vitamin A, folic acid, and iodine to grow and stay healthy. For those living in extreme poverty, micronutrients can often only be consumed through a nutrient mix added to staple foods like flour and maize. That’s where highly effective food fortification charities like Project Healthy Children, Iodine Global Network, and GAIN come in. [5]
[1] World Health Organization, Children: reducing mortality
[2] World Health Organization, Malaria fact sheet
[3] World Health Organization, 2018 World Malaria Report
[4] World Health Organization, Global status report on road safety 2013
[5] Copenhagen Consensus, Micronutrient Fortification and Biofortification Challenge
