We’re facing a silent disaster. One that’s bigger than any natural disaster the world has ever faced. More than 24,000 children under age 5 will die today of preventable causes including malaria, HIV and AIDS, pneumonia, diarrhea, measles, and complications during pregnancy and after birth.

Proven, simple and low-cost solutions to these child killers already exist. Yet world leaders lack the will to roll them out across poor countries where they’re most needed, condemning nearly nine million children a year to die needlessly.

What’s worse is that world leaders, including ours, have made many promises to keep children healthy — promises that have been broken.

The moment is now. It’s time to hold government leaders accountable for one of their least kept promises: to cut the number of children under five who die by two-thirds by 2015. (This is the fourth Millennium Development Goal.) Six million children a year will survive if they keep this commitment. Join with us and do what you can to keep these children alive. Sign our petition. Tell President Obama that allowing so many unnecessary child deaths is unacceptable and that we must act now.

Together we can end preventable deaths. Together we can bring about Child Health Now.

Learn more

• In the United States, we focus our advocacy efforts on several issues that directly impact child health around the world. Learn more about these issues.

AIDS Malaria

Extreme poverty Child survival

Hunger and malnutrition

• World Vision's Child Health Now report (PDF) examines this silent emergency and outlines steps that wealthy countries must take to significantly curb preventable child deaths.

Take Action

• Pray for children who are vulnerable to these diseases. Pray that countries with the power to act and save lives would do so.
• Add your name to the Child Health Now petition. Tell President Obama to act now to end preventable child deaths.
• Donate to provide life-saving medicines and supples. Your gift, combined with supplies donated by top pharmaceutical companies, multiplies 14 times to help save children and families in 20 of the world’s poorest countries.