WASHINGTON, D.C.— U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) is supporting a bill to strengthen efforts to end preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and young children in developing nations. Every day, more than 17,000 children under five years old die of entirely treatable conditions. Every day, approximately 800 women, the majority of whom live in developing countries, die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. The Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 provides tools to accelerate progress toward ending preventable maternal and child deaths by 2035. These would include placing more skilled birth attendants and providing cost-effective, life-saving interventions including vaccinations.
“We have a responsibility to do everything we can to provide additional tools to developing countries that could lead to thousands of lives being saved everyday” said Senator Patty Murray. “I am committed to fighting this terrible global issue and improving the health and wellbeing of women and children both here in the United States and around the world.”
The Reach Act would:
· Require a ten-year strategy to achieve the goal of ending preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths by 2035.
· Establish a permanent Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator at USAID who would be focused on implementing the ten-year strategy and verifying that the most effective interventions are scaled up in target countries.
· Require the Administration to develop a financing framework which would allow the use of U.S. government dollars to leverage additional commitments from the private sector, non-profit organizations, partner countries, and multinational organizations.
For complete bill text please visit: https://www.congress.gov/114/bills/s1911/BILLS-114s1911is.pdf
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