With nearly 9 million children dying every year from preventable diseases before their fifth birthday, we are calling on world governments to take immediate and decisive action to turn around this tragic statistic. Although we face many challenges, it’s crucial we don’t give up on achieving the Millennium Development Goals by their 2015 deadline.The UN Conference in Melbourne is our chance to be heard.

You can show your support and push the government to take action to help reduce child-mortality by joining our EVERY ONE campaign:

1. Make Your Mark on-line or in-person this Saturday 28th August at Queen Vic Market in Melbourne

2. Purchase a Save the Children EVERY ONE t-shirt or romper online (available shortly), or this Saturday 28th August at Queen Vic Market in Melbourne or this Sunday 29th August at the Bondi Markets in Sydney

3.  Join us on facebook and download our EVERY ONE game

4. Follow us on Twitter @savechildrenaus . Join the conversation & share your thoughs using  #everyone AND #achieveMDGs hashtags

There are a diverse program of public events on global health & poverty happening in Melbourne to coincide with the UN Conference.
Visit the Making Health Global website for more details.

Global CEO of Save the Children Jasmine Whitbread says political leaders have no excuse for running so far behind schedule in reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), several of which look unlikely to be met by their target date of 2015.

The Millennium Development Goals are eight objectives which collectively aim to slash poverty, hunger and disease and improve health and education, all by 2015. The MDG’s were agreed upon by the world’s leaders and development institutions in the year 2000.

“In this day and age, it’s deplorable that millions of children under the age of five are still dying from common illnesses like diarrhoea, measles, malaria and complications during pregnancy and after birth, not to mention preventable illnesses like pneumonia and HIV,” said Ms Whitbread.

“Just imagine if the combined population of Melbourne, Sydney and Adelaide died every year. It’s not something we can just sit back and accept. This is an urgent humanitarian issue, one that the newly elected Federal Government should be making a priority.”

“At Save the Children, we are particularly concerned with Millennium Development Goal 4, which sets the target of reducing the under-five mortality rate by two thirds by 2015,” Ms Whitbread explains. “If we keep progressing at the current rate, we won’t achieve this target till 2045. Yes, it’s true we’re well behind schedule, but the MDG’s are just too important to put in the too-hard basket.”

JASMINE WHITBREAD will speak at the UN DPI/NGO Conference, as part of a workshop titled Beyond 2015: Coordinated Action for MDGs 3, 4, 5, & 6. This workshop will be held on Tuesday 31 August at 2.30 pm at the Melbourne Convention Centre. Ms Whitbread will be joined by three speakers including Simon Wright, the Head of Health & HIV at Save the Children in the U.K, in a session moderated by Tim Costello, CEO of World Vision Australia.

It is expected that around 2000 delegates from non-government organisations (NGO’s) worldwide will attend this year’s UN DPI/NGO Conference. It will be the first time Australia has hosted a United Nations event of this size.