Nearly 10 Million Children Under 5 Die Each Year -- A Case of Benign Neglect

Kamrul Hassan recognized the signs. The fever, coughing and rapid breathing that afflicted his two-year old daughter, Sweety, were the same symptoms that killed his toddler son three years before. The 35-year-old farmer and father of three in rural Bangladesh knew his daughter needed help, and she needed it fast.

With the support of the American people, Sweety got the help that wasn't available to her brother. She was taken to see Montaj, a volunteer health worker in her village who had been trained through a USAID-funded program to diagnose and treat childhood illnesses like diarrhea and pneumonia, two of the top killers of young children in Bangladesh.

Sweety was diagnosed with pneumonia and given antibiotics, provided by the government of Bangladesh at a cost of a little more than thirty cents a treatment. Just a day later, Sweety was on the mend.She was fortunate; millions more children aren't as lucky. In fact, nearly 10 million children under 5 die each year from preventable or treatable causes like pneumonia and diarrhea.

Americans are a generous people. When we see tragedy unfold before us, we want to help. When the tsunami hit Southeast Asia in 2004, we reached into our wallets and contributed hundreds of millions of dollars. But the tsunami was a major event broadcasted into our homes every night. he tragedy of these lost children does not make the evening news. Their deaths are marked with benign neglect from the rest of the world. Yet, the childhood death toll is equivalent to that of the Southeast Asia tsunami striking children in poorer countries every nine days, year in and year out.

Legislation before the Congress can help to turn the tables on deadly disease and give children a stronger chance to survive.

The bipartisan U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act provides us with the chance to make a major change for the better in this world. How many times in a year, in a decade, is there an opportunity to reshape the lives of children and families in the poorest countries while also reshaping how these people see our own country? The answer: not often. But we have that opportunity right now, if only our elected officials in Congress will show the foresight and resolve to approve this legislation.

Through this bill, we can come together with a single purpose: save the lives of children in the least-developed nations of the world. Children under the age of 5 are dying at a rate of nearly 27,000 a day from preventable and treatable causes. 27,000 children a day! And, nearly half of these deaths take babies less than a month old. We don't hear about this epic tragedy very often because it is happening a world away. It's time we opened our eyes to the world around us and put muscle behind solutions that we know can work.

The Global Child Survival Act would provide basic solutions to the places where they are most needed. Cost-effective and low-tech services like vaccinations, antibiotics, and a simple mix of water, sugar, and salts to treat dehydration can help prevent deaths from unthinkable causes like diarrhea and pneumonia. That's what makes this bill so compelling. We know these initiatives work. They are proven and they save lives. But they won't save the millions of newborns and young children whose lives hang in the balance unless Congress takes action and America leads the way.

It is time for the United States to reclaim its mantle as a global humanitarian and lead the way for the world to save children's lives. Millions of Americans have already endorsed the Child Survival Act. More than 200,000 letters have been sent to lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle have joined as cosponsors. We urge the House and Senate to move ahead on this bill and, more importantly, work to end this tragedy.