To the Editor:
On Mother’s Day this year, I was once again reminded how lucky I am to have a healthy daughter who was able to overcome a scary battle with pneumonia when she was only a few weeks old. At the same time, I realize that, no matter how hard some mothers try, they don't have the resources to ensure their babies make it through the critical early years.
We tragically lose 5.9 million children every year before they reach their fifth birthday. This doesn’t have to be that way: evidence shows that the end of preventable maternal and child deaths is possible by 2035.
Congress has come together this year around moms and kids through the Reach Every Mother and Child Act (H.R. 3706 and S. 1911). More than 140 legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, have signed on to meet the goal of ending unnecessary deaths of moms and kids for once and for all by ensuring that maternal and child health programs are well coordinated within our government and oriented toward producing measurable results.
I commend Representatives Don Beyer and Gerry Connolly for recently signing HR3706 and ask them and Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine to encourage the leadership of the House Foreign Affairs and Senator
Foreign Relations Committees to work on the Reach Act. Actions speak louder than words — my Mother’s Day wish is action for a healthy, bright future for millions of mothers and children in the U.S. and worldwide.
Claudia Ender
Alexandria