Take Action to Prevent Maternal and Newborn Deaths

Improving access to healthcare is one of the priorities of our Church. Lutheran social ministry organizations both here at home and abroad continue to provide health services—including child and maternal health, to those in need of it. Through its various programmatic interventions, the U.S. government has been instrumental in improving mother and child survival rates around the world.

Despite remarkable progress seen in the last two decades, 300,000 women continue to die every year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.

As a people whose faith calls us to seek the well-being of our neighbor, we have an opportunity to encourage our government officials to enhance existing programs so that more mothers and children can survive.

Urge Congress to take necessary steps to prevent maternal and newborn deaths by visiting our ELCA Advocacy Action Center!

Representatives Dave Reichert (WA-8), Barbara Lee (CA-9), Michael McCaul (TX-10) and Betty McCollum (MN-4) have introduced the Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 (H.R.3701), legislation that will help to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths. This bi-partisan bill would improve upon current child and maternal health programs, ensuring the U.S. does its part to help countries to end preventable child and maternal deaths by 2035. Earlier this summer, Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. Senate (S.1911).

Specifically, the Reach Ever Mother and Child Act requires the President to:

Implement a coordinated U.S. government strategy to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths by 2035;
Set ambitious and tracked targets, and report on results annually;
Focus on the poorest and most vulnerable populations, recognizing the unique needs within different countries and communities;
Complement strong U.S. bilateral investments with innovative, public-private financing mechanisms; and
Improve coordination among U.S. government agencies and relevant foreign governments, international organizations, and civil society.

Our ELCA advocacy initiatives are made possible through support from ELCA World Hunger. Please donate now to ensure that we can continue to work for systemic change that truly supports our brothers and sisters facing poverty and hunger.

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