Graduation is finally upon us after an intense Masters of Social Work (MSW) program at Georgia State University and we begin to reflect about what we will do in the world with our degrees.
Our MSW program has a Community Partnerships specialization. This means that we look at the big picture – communities, organizations, societies. “Community Partnerships” is about making stronger connections between organizations to better fill in the gaps in services, accomplish larger goals, and meet the needs of all people. The MSW program at GSU was specifically designed by local social workers based on what was needed in the profession and the community.
During our program, two of us initiated a partnership connection between the organizations where we were interning or volunteering. One of us interned with Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia (HMHB). The goal of HMHB is to improve the health and safety of mothers, babies, and families. The other of us volunteers with RESULTS Atlanta, a citizen advocacy organization working to improve the health and safety of mothers and children internationally.
HMHB advocacy helped pass HB 649 in the Georgia Legislature to help new mothers to receive the assistance of certified lactation consultants in order to increase breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is a cost-effective way to save the lives of children, as breastfed babies are six times more likely to survive. Breastfeeding also supports children’s immune systems, brain development and early educational achievement, as well as the health of mothers.
These organizations have a lot to work on as 300,000 mothers die unnecessarily from pregnancy-related causes every year and 16,000 children under the age of 5 die every day around the world, mainly from preventable causes like malnutrition. This is as if every child under age 5 in Atlanta died within two days. As high as that number is, it has been cut in half from 40,000 per day in 1990. The good news is that there is a way to end preventable child deaths by 2035 if we are diligent and leverage partnerships.
A key strategy for getting this work done is making sure effective policies are in place to make the most of our investments in maternal and child health. RESULTS is partnering with CARE and 25 other organizations, including the American Association of Pediatrics (AAP), a founding member of HMHB, in a Child Survival Coalition to pass the Reach Every Mother and Child Act (H.R. 3706 and S.1911).
Without requiring additional funding, the “Reach Act” would reform practices of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to be more effective and efficient toward addressing maternal and child health. This includes focusing on best practices, like breastfeeding, which would save 800,000 children annually. The Child Survival Coalition has gained over 140 cosponsors on the Reach Act, including two Georgia Republicans, U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Lawrenceville, and U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Coweta County. We have also met with U.S. senators Johnny Isakson and David Perdue, asking them to cosponsor the bill. Our Senators are in a very special position as they sit on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where the bill resides. They are in an excellent position to encourage Committee leadership to take up the bill and pass it on to the full Senate for a vote. The Reach Act will save lives and make the best possible use of taxpayer investments.
It’s been an excellent experience partnering in our community. The connection between HMHB and RESULTS is obvious: both missions include ensuring mothers and their children are supported, that all children have a fair start in life, and that they can reach their full potential, regardless of the circumstances into which they are born. During such a partisan political election period, it’s refreshing that Republicans and Democrats can come together around moms and kids, especially as Mothers’ Day approaches.
It’s time for the leadership on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to move this forward. Our graduating class can be the generation that made history by making preventable child deaths something that future cohorts read about in history books. That’s the future I want.
Congratulations to our fellow graduates, and happy Mothers’ Day to our fellow moms - worldwide!
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