New Legislation Aims to End Preventable Maternal, Newborn, and Child Deaths Worldwide
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts: Johanna Harvey: jharvey@pedaids.org or +1 (202) 280-1657
Ryan Henson: rhenson@pedaids.org or +1 (202) 280-1537
Washington, D.C.—July 30, 2015— The Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF) welcomes the introduction of The Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015. This bi-partisan legislation introduced by Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) will reinvigorate U.S. commitments to end preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths.
The Reach Act will improve coordination among existing agencies through the development of a comprehensive government strategy on maternal, newborn, and child health programming. The bill includes required target setting to ensure that ambitious measurable goals are set forth and reported on in order to improve transparency. The legislation authorizes and encourages new innovative financing mechanisms and partnerships with the private sector, which will enable the scale-up of evidence-based maternal, newborn, and child health programs worldwide.
Combatting global HIV and preventing maternal, newborn and child deaths are intrinsically intertwined, especially in countries with a high HIV burden. We appreciate that Senators Coons and Collins recognize that ending these preventable deaths must continue to be of the highest priority to the U.S. government.
###
About the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation (EGPAF):
EGPAF is the global leader in the fight against pediatric HIV/ AIDS and has reached more than 21 million women with services to prevent transmission of HIV to their babies. It currently supports nearly 7,800 health facilities and works in 15 countries to implement prevention, care, and treatment services; to further advance innovative research; and to execute global advocacy activities that bring dramatic change to the lives of millions of women, children, and families worldwide. For more information, visit www.pedaids.org.
