Support the Reach Every Mother and Child Act!
During this Christmas Season, ELCA Advocacy is supporting the Reach Every Mother and Child Act, an initiative in Congress that would improve strategies and access to healthcare for mothers and young children across the world. Lutheran social ministry organizations both here at home and abroad continue to provide health services—including child and maternal health, to those in need of it.!
Improving access to healthcare is one of the priorities of our Church. Lutheran social ministry organizations both here at home and abroad continue to provide health services—including child and maternal health, to those in need of it. Through its various programmatic interventions, the U.S. government has been instrumental in improving mother and child survival rates around the world. Despite remarkable progress seen in the last two decades, 300,000 women continue to die every year from causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.
As a people whose faith calls us to seek the well-being of our neighbor, we have an opportunity to encourage our government officials to enhance existing programs so that more mothers and children can survive. Urge Congress to take necessary steps to prevent maternal and newborn deaths. There is a sample letter below:
Dear ___________
As a Lutheran and your constituent, I urge you to co-sponsor the Reach Every Mother and Child Act. Introduced both in the House of Representatives (H.R.3701) and the Senate (S.1911), this bi-partisan bill will accelerate efforts to end preventable maternal, newborn and childhood deaths within a generation.
In particular, the Reach Every Mother and Child Act directs the U.S. government to expand on solutions that are evidence-based and cost-effective; improve coordination among various agencies, foreign governments, civil society and international organizations; and encourage innovative public-private financing mechanisms to save the lives of vulnerable mothers and children.
There has been tremendous progress in mother and child survival in the past two decades. However, Over 5 million children and 300,000 women die each year from preventable causes, 99 percent of which occur in developing countries.
I am grateful for the work that our government is already doing to help prevent these unnecessary deaths. I do believe, however, that there is room to do more to achieve optimal efficiencies and results. The Reach Every Mother and Child Act seeks to do just that. I urge you to support this bill.
Senator Tammy Baldwin
717 Hart Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5653
Contact: www.baldwin.senate.gov/contact
Senator Ron Johnson
Class III
328 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington DC 20510
(202) 224-5323
www.ronjohnson.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact
Congressman Paul Ryan
United States House of Representatives
1233 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4901DC Phone:
202-225-3031
https://paulryan.house.gov/contact/email.htm
Congressman Mark Pocan
United States House of Representatives
313 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515-4902
202-225-2906
https://pocan.house.gov/contact/email-me
