By Jenneh Braima
Save the Children Sierra Leone’s “Everyone Campaign”has planned a marathon challenge to call on world leaders and decision makers to take urgent actions on child survival and to fight against injustice against children.
Joanna Tom Kargbo, who manages the campaign, told Politico at their King Herman Road office in Freetown that child survival was important because no child was born to die.
“If we provide health and nutrition we save lives, parents have fewer children and children concentrate at school. With all these health problems will be reduced”, he urged.
Kargbo explained that the race for survival was an event organized for children in ten schools, targeting 50 in each of those schools.
She said the children would compete with other children around the word, while the race for survival would be an opportunity to invite politicians and the media to hear directly from the children why they thought more could be done to save their lives.
The manager said working in partnership with Health Alert and the National Youth Commission to organize a forum with key decision makers,would help young people and children‘s groups create a an inter-generational dialogue forum.
She said children would have the opportunity to put forward questions to their leaders and urge them to take actions in addressing issues affecting women and children’s health.
“We want government to take urgent action to deliver health care and nutrition to every child no matter where they live by increasingthe budget to save every child’s life”, he urged, adding that government should put in place clear and specific newborn care plans and measures for every newborn to survival the crucial first months and implement those plans effectively.
“The government needs to strengthen the free health care service delivery and fast track its financing options to continue and sustain the scheme. As agreed in the Millennium Development Goals, 15% of the national money should be allocated to the health sector,” he said.
(C) Politico 24/10/13
