As a student intern working in the South Carolina Statehouse, I have seen firsthand how a few determined voices can make positive change.
I have seen people — young and old — use their voices to make the lives of others better. But around the world, millions of kids and mothers don’t have the opportunity to speak up for themselves — especially regarding their own health and nutrition.
Astonishingly, 5.9 million children under age 5 — nearly half of whom are infants — died in 2015 from preventable causes like pneumonia, dehydration and diarrhea. This means 16,000 kids die every day. These deaths are easily preventable with simple and inexpensive solutions, like access to clean medical tools. A majority of them occur in developing countries that lack funding and resources.
As Congress debates the 2017 federal budget, members need to speak up on behalf of children. Work by the U.S. and other countries has helped decrease the amount of preventable maternal and childhood deaths by about half.
This is great progress, but we can still do more to help mothers and children. Therefore, I ask Sen. Lindsey Graham to invest more money in 2017 in maternal and child health and nutrition programs.
A relatively small investment can give millions of kids the healthy lifestyle they deserve, no matter where they live.
— Alicia Badley, fourth-year political science student