Search:

EVERY ONE

Campaigning to Save Lives

No child is born to die. And no mother should die giving birth. Yet every year millions do. Save the Children is campaigning to end this injustice.

EVERY ONE is Save the Children’s biggest ever global campaign. Its ambitious aims need action on all fronts. We’re campaigning to make stopping children and mothers dying a political priority and mobilizing thousands of people in both rich and poor countries. Our vision is that no child under the age of five will die from preventable causes and that public attitudes will not tolerate a return to high levels of child deaths.

THE CHALLENGE:

We know that progress is possible. The number of under-five deaths has declined from more than 12 million in 1990 to 7.6 million in 2010. But there are vast and shameful inequalities in rates of maternal, newborn and child mortality between and within countries. We must address the disadvantages faced by the poorest people, including rural communities, women and girls. More than 800,000 babies still die every year during birth, and 358,000 women die during pregnancy or childbirth. These numbers are unacceptable.

THERE ARE SOLUTIONS:

Health workers – properly trained and equipped – can prevent most child and maternal deaths. Filling the health worker gap is crucial.
Adequate nutrition could prevent one-third of under-five deaths – starting with exclusive breastfeeding to six months, a balanced diet, and access to affordable, nutritious food.
Vaccines against five deadly diseases cost less than US$8 per child and already save 7,000 lives a day. Comprehensive coverage could save a further 4.2 million by 2015.
The lives of thousands of children caught up in emergencies – when they’re particularly vulnerable to pneumonia, diarrhea, cholera and malnutrition – can be saved through targeted feeding and healthcare programs.

Our Global Targets

By 2015 we’ll:

have gained political and commitent by governments and donors to stop children and mothers dying
be reaching 50 million young children and mothers a year through our health and nutrition work
have helped train 400,000 health workers and campaigned for millions more
have generated 60 million actions globally in support of the campaign
have raised US $2 billion for our work around the world.

Our overall aim for the campaign is to help achieve MDG 4 on newborn and child survival, as well as accelerating progress towards MDG 5 by addressing the health and wellbeing of mothers. This would save the lives of 16 million children and mothers by 2015.

Achievements To Date

Since EVERY ONE’s launch, Save the Children has helped train more than 85,000 health workers. We’ve invested US $565 million in our health and nutrition work. And in 2010, we reached more than 40 million mothers and children. Across the world, more than 8 million people have taken part in actions to support the campaign.

Save the Children and our partners were instrumental in getting the UN to launch its EVERY WOMAN, EVERY CHILD strategy and the government of Sierra Leone to abolish healthcare fees. The Indian government has promised to prioritize maternal, newborn and child health, Nigeria has passed a national health bill focusing on maternal and child health, and Pakistan has committed to a three-fold increase in spending on health, focusing on maternal, newborn and child health.

In 2010, along with partners, we played a key role in the Canadian government’s decision to focus on maternal, newborn and child health as their signature development issue during the Muskoka G8.