Your voice matters - be a messenger for children

Members of Parliament still need to hear that Canadians believe five years is NOT a child's lifetime.

Prime Minister Harper and his senior Ministers do support concrete action on child and maternal health at this year's G8 Summit in Muskoka. But we need to make sure that once the Summit is over and they return to Parliament Hill, that the Canadian government takes real action to stop the preventable deaths of 8.8 million children.

All Members of Parliament (MPs) must support decisions by the government of Canada to provide new funds for overseas development programs supporting child and maternal health and ensure that these programs both prevent and address the ill health that results in the deaths of 8.8 million children and 350,000 women.

The lives of millions of families can be changed by the decisions that the G8 leaders and our government take in the coming months. Be sure to let our government know that you are concerned about the lives of children living in poverty in developing countries and that you believe the Canadian goverment can save and improve children's lives.

All you have to do is click on the ACT tab at http://fivefor5.ca/ select the "Send a letter to your MP" button and follow the instructions. If you want to increase the likelihood that your MP will read your communication, write a person letter to your MP. You can find out who your MP is by visiting http://www.elections.ca/home.asp. Then you can use the points below to write your letter. Add a personal reflection on why this issue matters to you to help communicate your concern for children. For example, you may have been ill with a stomache bug and received basic medicine to heal the illness. In some countries, this basic medicine is not available for children and they may die a result.

Here are points for your letter:

• I am concerned about the 8.8 million children living in developing countries who die before reaching the age of five.
• most of these children die from causes that we would not allow Canadian children to die from - diarrhea, malnourishment, measles and pneumonia.
• I want you to support concrete action by the Canadian government to stop the preventable deaths of 8.8 million chidlren by dedicating new money to development programs that will prevent the most child and maternal deaths and do the most to improve their health.
  

Sharing really is caring – share this video with your friends and family.

Knowledge is more than power – it’s powerful when it is shared. Use this video to share with those you know!

Yes, it is true 8.8 million children die every year from mostly preventable causes. Unfortunately, that is news to many of us in Canada. We are fortunate to live in a country where most children do not die from preventable illnesses or health concerns.

One of the ways that a big problem starts to be solved is thru the sharing of information about the problem and its causes. The more informed a person is on an issue that matters to them, the more likely they are to act on that information. That is one of the roles of the Five for 5 – Child Health Campaign. By sharing information about the issue of child health and the health risks faced by children living in poverty, we hope that the information will turn into knowledge that is acted upon and shared with others.

The more people who tell their elected government representatives that five years should never be a child’s lifetime, the more likely they are to ensure that the Canadian government acts on its commitment to make child and maternal health a priority in their overseas development work.

Information passed from one friend to another can make a difference - especially if that information sharing results in action. So that's why we are asking you this week to share this video. It’s short, to the point and might motivate you and someone in your community to act – to tell your MP that five years is NOT a child’s lifetime.

Act Now to Honour Mother’s Everywhere

You know that Moms Rule! So let’s show them we mean it by visiting http://www.momsrule.org/



It is an astounding fact - 1500 mothers die each day during pregnancy or because of complications during labour. One of the best predictors of a child’s health and well-being is a healthy mother. But shockingly, 24,000 children under the age of five die every day, with 38% of these deaths occurring within the first 28 days of life. These deaths can be stopped because they are the result of common illness or health issues that we know how to prevent and treat.


On May 4th, in honour of mothers everywhere World Vision joined with other international aid organizations and health professional associations to organize an event on the steps of Parliament Hill to call for all-party support to help save the lives of the hundreds of thousands of mothers and nearly 9 million children who die every year from preventable deaths.



As part of this event, Mother’s Day baskets were presented to MPs including The Honourable Bev Oda, Minister for International Cooperation, The Honourable Bob Rae, Liberal critic for Foreign Affairs, Madame Johanne Deschamps, Porte-parole du Bloc Québécois en matière de coopération internationale, Mr. John Rafferty, New Democratic Party critic for International Cooperation and CIDA. Included were chocolates and flowers, things a Canadian mother can expect on Mother’s Day. Also in the baskets were home birthing kits and nutritional supplementation, things a mother in Afghanistan or sub-Saharan Africa needs to live and to keep her child alive.


For the rest of the week of May 3, World Vision along with other child and maternal focused organizations are delivering our special Mother’s Day baskets too all Members of Parliament (MPs) – all 308 – to encourage them to continue to support the Canadian maternal and child health initiative that will be part of the G8 Summit meetings in Muskoka in June.



This Sunday, Canadians are going to honour their mothers by giving them flowers, chocolates and cards. But for the mothers of the 8.8 million children who die every year—the greatest gift we could give them would be some simple tools to help them see their children grow and flourish—tools like immunizations, clean water and skilled help during childbirth and with breastfeeding.



You can help give these gifts to mothers and honour your mother or significant caregiver in your life by visiting http://www.momsrule.org/. On this website you can send special gift to your mom – for free! – and a message to Stephen Harper asking him to honour mothers everywhere by giving them the tools they need to be healthy women and caregivers.