McCann Health joins initiative to end preventable child deaths

GLOBAL - McCann Health has committed $5 million worth of services and resources to a partnership uniting governments, non-governmental organisations, and the private sector to accelerate progress toward ending certain preventable childhood deaths.

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McCann Health joins initiative to end preventable child deaths

Specifically, McCann Health will donate in-kind resources and technical assistance to a USAID effort focused on increasing treatment of childhood diarrhea and pneumonia, which take more than 2 million children’s lives every year. Diarrhea and pneumonia are responsible for 29 per cent of child deaths worldwide, with the majority of these deaths taking place in a few countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. As most of deaths are preventable using effective, low-cost treatments, the initiative aims not only to provide the treatments, but to raise awareness of the problem and stoke demand for the treatments among effected populations.

John Cahill, global CEO of McCann Health, announced the agency’s commitment at the Call to Action on Child Survival conference, which was held in Washington, DC, on 14 and 15 June. Convened by the governments of the US, Ethiopia and India in cooperation with UNICEF, the conference sought to identify smart investments that can end preventable child deaths.

Cahill spoke in a moderated discussion entitled, “Bending the Curve: The Role of the Private Sector.”

“This is a rare and exciting opportunity for the world to deliver on the long-standing commitment to give every child the best possible start in life,” Cahill said. “Creating demand as a new concept in health is what we believe will bend the curve in health services solutions."

The “Declaration on Scaling-Up Treatment of Childhood Diarrhea and Pneumonia” is supported by the US, Canadian and Nigerian governments, UNICEF, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the MDG Health Alliance, and McCann Health, along with a number of implementing partners. More information is available via www.apromiserenewed.org.

McCann Health created the following video introducing the issue: