World Vision’s Beyond Five Program saves young children

 

In one recent year, almost seven million babies and toddlers died needlessly throughout the world from preventable causes.

World Vision, a nonprofit organization, located outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, started the Beyond Five program to address children’s health issues in children under the age of five.

“World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

They offer these statistics on children’s health throughout this world:

·       Each year, 6.9 million children die before their fifth birthdays, many in their first month of life and most from preventable and treatable causes. (UNICEF 2012)

·        The top killers are pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and neonatal causes such as birth complications and infections. Malnutrition also underlies at least a third of these deaths. (WHO) http://www.who.int/en/

·        Children in the developing world are 10 times more likely to die of preventable diseases than those in developed countries.

·        Of all childhood deaths, 99% occur in low income and middle-income countries, with half in sub-Saharan Africa and 33% in southern Asia. (CDC) www.cdc.gov

·        About 350,000 mothers die in or shortly after childbirth each year, leaving their children up to 10 times more likely to die before age five. (WHO)

·        Millions more children can be saved with low-cost, effective interventions like bed nets to prevent malaria; basic childhood immunizations; getting proper nutrients; clean drinking water and hand washing with soap to avoid diarrhea, and oral rehydration therapy to treat it.

Contact World Vision at www.worldvision.org to see how you can help.