What we are doing
Beyond giving: Changing the world through transformational partnerships
Jasmine Whitbread, CEO, Save the Children International
Each year 7.6 million children die before their fifth birthday. That’s one child every four seconds. Most of these deaths can be prevented. We know what is needed to prevent them. I’ve seen it for myself in recent months in countries like Cambodia, Afghanistan and Nepal. Proven solutions like ensuring a health worker is within reach of every child, life-saving vaccines are available for all, and ensuring children have the nutritious food they need to be healthy and fulfil their potential.
In 2011 we helped to bring about important commitments from world leaders for more vaccines and health workers. This year, with the 2012 US G8 and the Mexican G20, and next year’s UK G8, set to look at issues relating to food, we will be calling in particular for leaders to take action on malnutrition, an underlying cause of one third of child deaths.
To do so requires NGOs, the private sector, governments and others to work together to turn the Millennium Development Goals into results on the ground. That’s why we’re launching in Davos a new partnership with The Unilever Foundation in support of our global EVERY ONE campaign to save children’s lives. This is much more than a model of generous corporate giving. It is part of a call to action, across sectors, to develop transformational partnerships to dramatically accelerate progress on reaching the MDGs, so we can save millions of children’s and mothers’ lives.
The Unilever Foundation has made a 3-year commitment to support Save the Children, the partnership will contribute to our overall global EVERY ONE campaign to save children’s lives, working in over 50 countries, with a particular focus on those countries where most child deaths occur. The campaign includes expanding Save the Children’s on the ground work, advocating with governments, and helping to catalyse a movement for a global breakthrough on child survival. In India, for example, we’re supporting mothers in villages to care for their newborns, meeting the government to share evidence of what works, and mobilising young people in a movement for action to save children’s lives.
Save the Children and Unilever are partnering in this way for three reasons.
Firstly, because we have a shared determination to accelerate progress on achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
Secondly, because of our shared belief that key to progress are partnerships between sectors. The ambitious goals of our EVERY ONE child survival campaign cannot be achieved by Save the Children alone – we need to work in partnership with the private sector, as well as with governments and communities.
Thirdly, because Save the Children and Unilever’s competencies and reach are complementary, and by combining them in a strong strategic partnership we will leverage transformational change. The new model of partnership goes well beyond financial support. This is about two effective organisations working together in new ways.
By partnering with a truly global brand, Save the Children can dramatically increase the profile, visibility and awareness of the EVERY ONE campaign. Unilever’s consumer and staff base, and vital complementary competences in areas like marketing and communications, will help us inspire millions more people to get involved.
This approach ensures sustainability because it isn’t just about what we do by ourselves but, crucially, is also about inspiring and enabling much wider change in policy and practice and in public support and engagement. It means not only reducing child mortality now but ensuring no return to high mortality later.
In these tough economic times we sometimes get asked whether the world can afford to invest in child survival? The answer’s clear: Yes.
The solutions for child survival are great value for money. It can cost as little as $300 to train a local health worker who can then support communities by promoting healthy behaviours; diagnose and treat some common childhood infections and malnutrition; and refer children to clinics for treatment of more complicated cases. Having met some of these amazing health workers, and those whom they have helped, I can testify to the amazing difference they make.
Investing in children is not just a moral obligation but good economics. Tackling child malnutrition doesn’t just save lives, it promotes growth. Left unchecked, malnutrition can lose a country 3–6% of the national income. Conversely, proven, low-cost nutritional interventions during childhood can increase individual adult earnings by 46%. Well nourished children are less prone to disease and illness, thus lowering the cost of healthcare. And in an interconnected world economic progress in the poorest countries will benefit the whole global economy. So the right thing to do is also the smart thing to do. We can do well by doing good.
