Project Syndicate: Stopping the Child Killers
Anita Zaidi, director of the enteric and diarrheal diseases program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

“…To end child deaths from [pneumonia and diarrhea] once and for all, governments must commit to scaling up simultaneously the full suite of interventions identified by the World Health Organization and UNICEF two years ago, in their integrated Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhea. … Governments have a pivotal role to play in ensuring that the poorest and most marginalized communities have access to critical health services, by providing the right training, tools, supervision, funding, and logistical support for health workers. This … will require a strong and sustained political commitment, one that civil society and the media, by keeping their governments accountable, can help to secure. There are still far too many children around the world who do not have access to the essential health services they need to survive and thrive. Accelerating the discussion of proven, low-cost methods to prevent, treat, and cure pneumonia and diarrhea is critical to give all children the chance they deserve…” (12/4).