McCann Health Pledges To Help End Preventable Child Deaths; Joins USAID's New Public-Private Partnership

WASHINGTON, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- John Cahill, Global CEO of McCann Health, announced his agency's $5 million commitment of in-kind resources and technical assistance to accelerate progress toward ending certain preventable childhood deaths as part of new Public-Private Partnership with the U.S. and Canadian governments, UNICEF, and other global organizations.

The announcement is occurring at the 'Call to Action on Child Survival' conference being held in Washington, DC June 14 and 15-- convened by the governments of U.S., Ethiopia and India, in close cooperation with UNICEF-- to bring together high-level decision makers and thought leaders to identify the smart investments to collectively end preventable child deaths. Mr. Cahill is a panelist at the conference, speaking in a moderated discussion entitled, "Bending the Curve—The Role of the Private Sector."

"This is a rare and exciting opportunity for the world to deliver on the long-standing commitment to give every child the best possible start in life," said Mr. Cahill. "Creating demand as a new concept in health is what we believe will bend the curve in health services solutions. Civil society, particularly the private sector, along with faith-based communities must be active participants. If we succeed, in addition to the tremendous moral value of saving children's lives, we will enable agencies to strengthen demand for quality healthcare products and services, providing growth and stability – and make the world more peaceful and secure."

The Partnership is embodied by the "Declaration on Scaling-Up Treatment of Childhood Diarrhea and Pneumonia" which seeks to unite governments, private sector partners, donors, and non-government organizations around saving over two million children's lives every year. 

Diarrhea and pneumonia are among the leading killers of children under the age of five worldwide-- responsible for 29 percent of all child deaths.  The majority of these deaths occur in a few high-burden countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.  Yet most deaths could be prevented with highly effective and low-cost treatment.   

Signatories to the Declaration include the U.S., Canadian and Nigerian governments, UNICEF, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the MDG Health Alliance, and McCann Health along with a number of implementing partners.  The Call to Action details a new 5-point road map for improving efforts behind preventable child death introduced at the meeting by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Much more information is available on the Child Survival Call to Action conference website: Visit http://www.apromiserenewed.org

About McCann Health: Comprising the world's most connected health and wellness experts, McCann Health is the most awarded professional and consumer health communications network with the largest international expertise spanning 35 countries and 57 offices. McCann Health's global network includes McCann HumanCare, McCann Healthcare, McCann Regan Campbell Ward, McCann Torre Lazur-- as well as the leading worldwide medical communications practice, McCann Complete Medical. McCann Health is a part of McCann Worldgroup, the largest marketing communications agency network in the world, and is a leading healthcare agency network owned by Interpublic Group [NYSE: IPG].

SOURCE McCann Health