January 11, 2010

From: PneumoALERT at preventpneumo.org

Call to USAID to Take Action on Pneumonia and Diarrhea

Dear Colleagues,


I am excited to tell you that on January 7, 2010, Dr. Rajiv Shah was sworn in as USAID Administrator. This is a great opportunity to welcome Dr. Shah to his new leadership position and to call on him to take up the cause of pneumonia and diarrhea, the world's two leading causes of child mortality.

Dr. Shah has led and worked with many of the initiatives that are defining best practice in the field of development, including the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria, the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. His tireless efforts to immunize children around the world have helped save countless lives.

Please take a moment to sign and submit a letter welcoming Dr. Shah as he begins his important work as head of USAID and to bring to his attention the need to increase support for child health. Dr. Shah is now at the center of the important US aid effort to help families around the world in their struggles against poverty and disease.

Millions of lives can be saved by increasing access to antibiotics and vaccines against pneumonia and diarrhea, the two leading killers of children under five. By taking on these two common and preventable killers, the US can save millions of young lives and send a powerful message to countries everywhere about our ability to protect the health of the world's youngest citizens.

In November 2009, nearly 100 leading global health organizations joined forces to commemorate the first-annual World Pneumonia Day. Close to 100 events took place in over 30 countries across 6 continents. As a partner of the Global Coalition against Child Pneumonia, we urge individuals to capitalize on this momentum by sending this letter to Dr. Shah.

Please click here to sign and submit the letter. Please forward this link http://www.change.org/actions/view/call_to_usaid_to_take_action_on_pneumonia_and_diarrhea  to any colleagues or friends you think might be interested.

In December 2009, we announced the launch of a new International Vaccine Access Center (IVAC) at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. We are pleased to have the opportunity to bring together a group with diverse skills and perspectives to accelerate access to lifesaving vaccines in populations that need them most through the development and implementation of evidence-based policies. I invite you to continue checking IVAC's new website for information on projects and new findings.

Thank you for your action and support.

Sincerely,
Orin S. Levine, PhD
Executive Director, IVAC
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
www.jhsph.edu/ivac
Follow me on Twitter @orinlevine
Read my blog at www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-orin-levine