Successes

The uphill battle has been won, now we begin to roll over the top of the mountain and cascade down the other side. The number of lives lost already is incomprehensible, and even more incredible is the number of lives that can be saved in the next 5-10 years. Join us in this history-making effort.

Child survival began with Rotary addressing Polio throughout the world. They created a model for mass immunization that the Red Cross continued with the Measles Initiative. Already millions of children have been spared from Polio and Measles.

There are many solutions and much to be hopeful about. The inputs described here create virtuous cycles. The virtuous cycles may be strong enough to break the vicious cycles currently at work. We hope you become part of the solution. Our combined strengths can solve many of the problems of the world.

How? Expanding the Rotary Model to include non-vaccine goods sets the stage for other treatments. As the systems get built up through each rollout of vaccines and non-vaccines, the platform for child survival strengthens. Already other inputs help. While vaccinating for Measles, the Red Cross also distibutes deworming medicine and Vitamin A. The next round adds nets. Strong drops in diseases and building the local health care system leads to local empowerment. To aid local empowerment, see the leave behinds for child survival. Next steps: Rotavirus, Rubella (vaccines for various subtypes of developing countries under development), Pneumonia (Pneumococcus) vaccines exist (vaccines for various subtypes of developing countries under development). The more inputs in each carry the more the cost of distribution for each goes down. And preventative measures like IMCI cost less than 80 cents per child yet yield huge benefits.

The Leave Behind

One goal is to leave behind National Immunization Day efforts as soon as possible. Why? Because they are done, or at least routinized.

What we want to leave behind is a system that does several things:

• A system that identifies the inputs yielding the highest impact.
• A system that identifies the highest impact per dollar invested.
• A system that has multiple partners who work well together.
• A system that has multiple matching partners, so that the money each invests is matched several times.
• A system that identifies the systemic inputs that drive prices of down, commoditizes the inputs, and keeps the prices down (yet still functions profitably for manufacturers to make and to innovate). Cost savings are available through larger scale purchases, lower risk contracts and systemic help reducing regulation and smoothing delivery and other processes, that is, help complementing economies of scale.
• A system that readily elicits and channels donations in kind, free or at-cost delivery and other efforts to help, which are quasi-charitable contributions.
• A reliable system in each of many countries that channels donations large and small from donors directly to the purchase of goods and delivery of services.
• A reliable system of public awareness in each of many countries. Ideally the promotional system can 'put out the word' and have donations flow into the system that are more than adequate to move forward on the cause.
• A system that identifies the systemic help that will further the causes of health, education, and prosperity of the population served on an ongoing basis.
• A network of friends and organizations in common cause that know how much they can accomplish quickly, easily and cooperatively.

last updated 25 May 2006