U.S. still works for global welfare
Bipartisan efforts succeed against world poverty, diseases and child mortality
Mother and child, the promise of a newborn infant, the purity of maternal love, the joy of a child discovering the world. These images are so basic to our experience as human beings that we in the United States sometimes take them for granted. Mothers in low-income countries know better. One million newborns die on the day of their birth; 2.6 million newborns do not survive their first month of life; and over 300,000 mothers die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth each year.
Despite all that, there is good news. Child deaths have dropped by over 50 percent since 1980, down from 40,000 to around 15,000 per day. Serious thinkers agree that we now have the knowledge and resources to end preventable child deaths entirely. Nobody could have predicted this 40 years ago. Even better, we see similar possibilities with ending hunger and extreme poverty.
How did this happen? Among many factors, one stands out: the United States led a coalition of developed countries in a concerted effort to improve the lives of people living in poverty through development aid. Members of Congress of both parties cared about these issues. When given the facts and the mechanisms, they rose to the occasion and said yes, this is what America stands for and this is what we want to do in the world. Our aid contributions to U.N. immunization programs, micro loan organizations, and HIV/AIDS efforts like PEPFAR sent the signal for other countries to add their support.
The results are startling. Malaria rates have been cut in half. A diagnosis of HIV/AIDS is no longer necessarily a death sentence. Millions of families have left deep poverty and are now able to feed and educate their children. All this has been achieved with expenditures of less than 1 percent of our budget — and with the help of bipartisan leadership across the U.S.
New Mexico is a good example. Over the years, Rep. Heather Wilson and Sen. Jeff Bingaman co-authored an op-ed on tuberculosis. Reps. Manuel Lujan, Steve Schiff, Ben Ray Luján, Michelle Lujan Grisham and Steve Pearce along with Sens. Pete Domenici, Martin Heinrich and Tom Udall have all supported appropriations and co-sponsorships of key legislation. Bipartisanship continues today. For instance, all New Mexico members of Congress are either co-sponsors or promised votes for the Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2017. The “Reach Act” requires continuation of maternal and child health programs that save hundreds of thousands of lives without increased spending. It is a dream bill that appeals to the best of both parties.
Sen. Udall is in a strategic position to push for the Foreign Relations Committee to approve the bill. We should ask him to do so. That will let it be considered by the Senate as a whole. It will likely pass if given a vote there and become another bipartisan step toward the goal of eliminating child deaths.
State after state shows similar cooperation, a sure sign that our elected leaders see global development issues as important to our well-being as a country. This year Congress, both House and Senate, have maintained or even slightly increased budgets for maternal and child health, nutrition, tuberculosis, the Global Partnership for Education and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in spite of the administration’s requests for deep cuts of up to 30 percent.
Parents, civic leaders and governments in low-income countries are stepping up their own efforts to achieve what we now know is possible. Members of Congress know relationship building is our best source of strength in the world. Supporting safe births and healthy children creates deep bonds. RESULTS thanks our New Mexico members of Congress, both current and past, for leading the fight to end poverty and its deadly side effects. The end is in sight, but we will continue to need the best from our Congress to reach our goal.