Mothers and Children Everywhere Deserve to Survive and Thrive

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A Refugee Mother’s Story

Syrian refugee, Wafaa, feeds her young son.

Syrian refugee and mother, Wafaa* has already lost so much: her home, her husband, her dreams of continuing her education.

Now a refugee in Lebanon, she struggles to feed her young son. She seeks work to pay for food for him, but work is scarce. She worries he won’t grow up strong without proper nutrition now.

The U.S. has been a world leader in helping mothers and their children survive by providing critical humanitarian assistance and health programs.

But now these programs that have helped millions are in jeopardy. The Trump administration has proposed cutting successful foreign aid programs by nearly a third. Drastic budget cuts of that size would reverse all the good that America has done to build stronger communities and save lives around the world. Cutting these programs would also make it harder to help families fleeing conflict, like Wafaa and her son.

U.S. Leadership Saves Lives

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department have done so much around the world. American foreign aid has helped reduce poverty, prevent child deaths and respond to crises. Specifically, these agencies have helped:

  • Save the lives of more than 4.6 million children and 200,000 mothers since 2008.
  • Train 13.1 million health care workers to provide maternal and child healthcare.
  • Treat 69.5 million children for diarrhea and pneumonia last year.
  • Provide emergency assistance to tens of millions of people in 51 countries.

In addition, the State Department provides lifesaving humanitarian assistance around the world to ensure millions of vulnerable refugee children and families have access to shelter, food and water, education, protection, resettlement services and more. Through the State Department, the United States government is the world’s single largest donor to global refugee response efforts.

Despite this Progress, We Have More to Do

Sadly, 5.6 million children under the age of five die globally every year. Nearly half of these deaths are of newborns. Another 303,000 mothers die from preventable causes each year. Children living in countries experiencing humanitarian crises, like Syria, face an increase of life-threatening illnesses such as diarrhea and malnutrition.

Together We Can Stop Funding Cuts to Life-Saving Programs

You can help stop cuts to these programs by using your voice! Urge your members of Congress to preserve America’s legacy of helping children and families. Visit SavetheChildrenActionNetwork.org/SaveMomsandKids today.

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