Neighbor News
Reach Every Mother and Child Act
End preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and young children in developing countries.
In developing countries, approximately 800 women die everyday from preventable circumstances related to pregnancy and childbirth, and more than 17,000 children under five years will die each day from treatable conditions. The risk of a woman dying in childbirth is 47 times higher in Africa than in the United States. Although deaths of mothers and children under 5 have been nearly cut in half in the last 25 years, the death rate can still be reduced with proper foreign aid and effective strategies from developed countries.
The Reach Every Mother and Child Act will strengthen U.S. government efforts to end preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and young children in developing countries. This goal can be achieved by assuring the executive branch develops a financing framework to authorize commitments from the private sector, nonprofits, partner countries and multinational organizations. The act also requires a five-year, comprehensive U.S. government strategy with attainable, specific goals that will contribute to reducing preventable mother, newborn, and child deaths globally by 2030. A designated U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will act as the Child and Maternal Survival Coordinator by implementing strategies that ensure effective interventions in target countries. Lastly, an annual report to Congress on the progress of the strategies implemented in developing countries will ensure U.S. taxes are efficiently invested.
