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"Give generously to the needy and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward the poor and needy in your land." Deuteronomy 15:11
But last year, 8.8 million children still died before their 5th Birthday, most from easily preventable causes. For example, 22% of these children died from diarrhoea and 21% from pneumonia. So we want to make sure these issues stay on the minds of our leaders.
What Australia needs to do:
Spending on health in the aid budget should increase to $1.18 billion by the 2011-2012 financial year. This will represent $1 in every four aid dollars based on government promises to increase the aid budget towards 0.5% of Gross National Income by 2015. This increase would save the lives of an estimated 240,000 children and 26,000 mothers in our immediate region each year.
Millennium Development Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality
MDG4 aims to cut infant and child deaths by two-thirds by 2015 from 1990 levels. In the Asia-Pacific region 18 of 29 developing countries are not on track to achieve this target.
Micah Challenge wants to see a 'Survive Past Five' 5th Birthday Party held in every electorate before the 2010 Federal Election. This will show our leaders that communities around Australia want our Government to meet our commitment to the MDGs, to halve global poverty by 2015.
Click here to view a map of all the 5th Birthdays registered so far
A 5th Birthday Party is a great way to engage your church, school or wider community, your local media, and your MP, to encourage our Government to do its fair share towards making sure that every child can survive to their 5th Birthday - and beyond. It's an opportunity to celebrate the progress that has been made to reduce poverty, while also highlighting the urgent need to do more.
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