The US Coalition for Child Survival is a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to raising awareness and increasing U.S. commitment to global efforts that improve the survival and health of children under five in developing countries.

The Coalition currently brings together 40 of the most influential organizations working in child survival and committed individuals who believe it is unacceptable that nearly 10 million children every year die of largely preventable or treatable causes. Our office is located in Arlington, Virginia.

In the early 1980’s, the issue of child survival was highlighted in a new way by major international organizations. This Child Survival Revolution, as it is commonly called, focused on basic interventions to reduce child mortality. An estimated 12 million children were saved in the 1980s as a result of these efforts.

However, since the mid-1990s, the pace of reductions in child mortality has slowed. In 2000, an estimated 10.8 million children under five were still dying every year. Just as in the 1980s, pneumonia, diarrhea, and an assortment of neonatal disorders continued to claim the lives of millions of newborns and young children each year.

In order to help place the issue of global child survival back on the agenda in the United States, several leading organizations came together and formed the US Coalition for Child Survival in 2000. The Coalition was mandated to educate the public and key decision makers regarding the need for a greater commitment to reduce child mortality and save the lives of millions of children in developing countries.

Several of the Coalition’s member organizations provide input and offer guidance as part of a Steering Committee. The committee currently includes representatives from the following organizations:

•  Academy for Educational Development
•  CARE
•  Christian Connections for International Health
•  CORE Group
•  Future Generations
•  Global Health Council
•  John Snow, Inc.
•  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
•  Management Sciences for Health
•  PATH
•  RESULTS
•  Save the Children
•  Student Campaign for Child Survival
•  United Nations Association of the USA
•  U.S. Fund for UNICEF
•  World Vision