Canadians want healthcare for children around the world—not just here at home

A little girl sits with her friends, drenched in sweat. She has high fever, likely linked to something as simple as pneumonia. In Canada, this would mean a prescription and a few days off school. In Africa, it could easily mean death.

If she dies before reaching her fifth birthday, she won’t be alone. Every day, 24,000 children die before age five, from preventable illnesses such as pneumonia or diarrhea. Nearly nine million children every year.

An Ipsos-Reid poll conducted for World Vision indicates this is unacceptable to the vast majority of Canadians. It’s hard to imagine your own children dying for want of antibiotics or a basic mosquito net. Yet that’s exactly what is happening. And although there are economical ways to save children’s lives, governments in wealthy countries are not finding the funds to help.

That’s why World Vision has just launched a global campaign focused on helping little ones reach their fifth birthdays. The Five for 5 campaign calls on Canadians to act in five easy ways, to save the life of a child. 

There has never been a better moment for Canadians to make a difference. Canada will be in the spotlight next year, as we host the global G8 summit. It’s our chance lead the way in stopping preventable child deaths—a reality that concerns all of us.