But as I sat there drinking my coffee, I was struck by two thoughts tertiary to the event itself:

• The Mansfield Room, in which the reception was held, is like many rooms in the Capitol in that its appearance conveys a sense of grandeur and gravitas.  To be in that room discussing maternal child health issues signaled to me that we have come a long way in bringing these issues to the fore as important, urgent matters for key policymakers
• At the Global Network, it is easy to fall into an NTD-focused mindset. Yet an event like today’s, focused primarily on pneumonia, was remarkably relevant to the work we are doing around maternal child health as a broader platform.  Even the messaging–”cheap interventions, proven solutions, a need for partnership to deliver treatments in the field…”–echoed the messages we recite daily with respect to NTDs.  As we move forward with our policy and advocacy work, it serves both the NTD and the broad MCH communities well to exploit such overlap to the benefit of millions of mothers and children around the world.

In a statement about the bill, Senator Dodd commented, “It doesn’t cost a lot to save a life…the United States does a lot to combat child mortality. But we can do more, we have committed to do more, and we must do more.”  Senator Corker added, “We have an opportunity through the Global Child Survival Act to save the lives of more children and improve the health of mothers in developing nations. Maintaining U.S. investment in proven, cost-effective programs to combat poverty and disease overseas helps bring stability to unstable and often dangerous regions of the world, ultimately supporting our security interests both at home and abroad.”

Political will — domestic and global — is critical to sustaining both the momentum and the funding necessary to realize our NTD control and elimination goals.  We praise the leaders in Congress and their staff for the incredible work they have done this week to help secure a place for NTDs as a key part of the global health and development agenda.  If you have a few minutes in your day, please reach out to them and let you know that you appreciate the work they are doing to help end the neglect.

To read more, and to see the full text of the bill, visit our Press Center.