A national impact campaign – called Rx for Child Survival – is underway to raise awareness of people across the country and in Nebraska about the 30,000 children who die every day somewhere around the globe, including right here at home. Over half of these deaths can be stopped with a handful of proven, inexpensive methods, ranging from access to immunizations and antibiotics to clean water and vitamins — things most of us simply take for granted.
Now, a coalition of public and private organizations hosted by Nebraska Educational Television and including UNMC, Nebraska – Rotary International, the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation, and the Douglas County Health Department, has joined the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the nationwide effort to raise awareness about children’s health globally and locally.
As part of the initiative, NETV will air “Rx for Kids, a Nebraska Connects Special” on Thursday, Oct. 27 from 7 to 8 p.m. The live, call-in show sets the stage for the PBS series “RX for Child Survival,” a six-part series that airs on PBS stations nationwide from 9 to 11 p.m. Nov. 1-3. It was produced by WGBH, the lead PBS station in Boston for the RX for Child Survival initiative.
“Preventable deaths and disease among the world’s youngest children don’t stop at our borders,” said Magda Peck, Sc.D., a coalition member and professor of pediatrics and public health at UNMC. “Nebraska’s kids, whether immigrants or native born, face related threats to their health and safety every day. The key is to understand how our own kids’ fates are connected to the survival of children around the world.”
Nebraska is one of 30 sites nationwide chosen by WGBH to bring the national campaign to the state. And while Nebraska’s global health issues might not look like those seen in a third world country, they can be just as deadly, Dr. Peck said. Less than 90 percent of Nebraska’s children are adequately protected by immunizations, obesity is on the growing edge of our childhood nutrition problems and the growing cost of prescriptions can put antibiotics beyond reach for uninsured and underinsured families, she said.
“Immunizations protect against vaccine-preventable diseases and can be credited with saving millions of children’s lives worldwide,” said Mary A. Balluff, Chief, Community Health and Nutrition Services, Douglas County Health Department. “In spite of that fact nearly one in five preschool age children in Nebraska are not up-to-date on their basic set of immunizations.”
Members of the Nebraska Coalition include: NETV, UNMC-Pediatrics, UNMC-UNO Masters in Public Health Program, CityMatCH, Douglas County Health Department, Our Healthy Community Partnership, Nebraska – Rotary International, and the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation.
To learn more about RX for Child Survival log on to pbs.org/rxforsurvival.