UNICEF Australia National Ambassadors The Wiggles, Carrie Bickmore, Tara Moss, Jimmy Barnes and Adam Liaw are using social media to raise awareness of new child mortality results.
UNICEF Australia ambassadors have joined a rallying cry on social media to raise awareness of preventable child deaths.
Supporting the release of the 2013 UNICEF report
Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, Carrie Bickmore, Tara Moss, Jimmy Barnes, The Wiggles and newest ambassador Adam Liaw have tweeted to applaud the gains made in halving the number of children who die each year from preventable illnesses like pneumonia, diarrhoea and measles.
UNICEF Australia spokeswoman on the Baby Friendly Health Initiative and a supporter of UNICEF programs to encourage breastfeeding, Tara Moss, has this year expanded her National Ambassador role to cover all aspects of child survival.
Ms Moss said the annual release of child mortality figures was a reminder of how successful UNICEF programs to reach children before their fifth birthday was in improving overall health outcomes for children throughout their life and into adulthood.
“Fewer children will die from preventable causes today than ever before,” Ms Moss said.
Ms Moss echoed the UNICEF report’s statements that every child born into this world holds enormous potential that waits to be unlocked with nurturing and caring.
“But 18,000 children will die today and we need to do more to bring that figure to zero,” she said.
“Most of these children will die from conditions we can’t fathom here in Australia like dirty water or no water at all to wash hands in and the ultimate risk of disease.”
Globally, the leading causes of death among children under the age of five are pneumonia, birth complications, diarrhoea and malaria. Pneumonia killed 1.1 million children in 2012 and holds its place as the biggest cause of under five deaths.
Half of all child deaths are due to poor nutrition.
UNICEF Australia’s Chief Executive Norman Gillespie along with the organisation’s National Ambassadors and Young Ambassadors have come together on social media to raise awareness of the causes of child deaths and have called on supporters of UNICEF to retweet and share the message.
“Having come this far in tackling preventable deaths of children under five we cannot slacken on the momentum,” Dr Gillespie said.
Follow UNICEF Australia on Twitter at @unicefaustralia or the hashtag #promise4children
Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed Progress Report 2013, initiated by UNICEF, is a global movement supported by 176 governments bringing together public, private and civil society actors committed to advocacy and action for maternal, newborn and child survival.
Levels and Trends in Child Mortality is a global comparative study on international child mortality compiled by The Interagency Group for Child Mortality, whose members are UNICEF, the World Health Organisation, the World Bank Group and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Embargoed copies of both reports are available upon request to UNICEF Australia communications manager Kate Moore on 02 8917 3244 or
kmoore@unicef.org.au
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