Caring Causes: Save the Children

Infant mortality is still a huge issue worldwide. Nearly three million babies died within the first month of life in 2012. One million of these didn't even survive the first day. Millions more died before their fifth birthday. A big reason for this is lack of healthcare. Forty million mothers give birth alone each year.

We were fortunate to have relatively uncomplicated births. But even the minor issues we had - jaundice with one baby, low blood sugar for the other - could have led to long-term complications if we weren't in a medical facility that could have discovered those issues right off the bat and made sure we were able to do the very easy treatments.

Save the Children is calling on world leaders, philanthropists and the private sector – this year – to commit to a Newborn Promise to end all preventable newborn deaths. It's a global problem, and needs people from all countries working together. The Every Newborn Action Plan will be presented to the world health assembly in May of this year, as part of the UN Secretary-General’s Every Woman Every Child movement to address child and maternal mortality. The plan is in response to demand from countries and is being jointly developed with UNICEF, the WHO and at least 50 others to set out the action needed on this neglected topic. 

How can you help? You can donate to Save the Children and share information about this important cause.