MP Malcolm Bruce makes his mark with Save the Children
July 7, 2009 12:00 AM
Malcolm Bruce MP joined Save the Children and MP Russell Brown at No 10 to 'make his mark' for saving children's lives
The MPs for Gordon (Malcolm Bruce MP) and Dumfries & Galloway (Russell Brown MP) have joined celebrities including KT Tunstall, Blur guitarist Graham Coxon and Franz Ferdinand front-man Alex Kapranos to call on G8 leaders meeting in Italy this week to stop millions of children dying from preventable diseases.
The politicians, alongside 200,000 celebrities and campaigners from across the UK and Africa, have pledged their support for a Save the Children campaign which urges world leaders to deliver on their promises for children.
On Monday both MPs joined Save the Children to hand in a petition to Gordon Brown urging him and other G8 members to increase aid to developing countries.
More than 9.2 million children die every year but only 3% of aid G8 countries give to the developing world goes into maternal, newborn and child healthcare. This is $3.5 billion dollars a year - half of what Save the Children is calling for.
The aid agency is calling on the G8 to double their money for child and maternal healthcare to at least $7 billion in order to try and reach their target of cutting child deaths by two thirds by 2015.
Steve Haines, Save the Children's head of global campaigns said: "Gordon Brown must push fellow world leaders to deliver on existing promises - and go one step further and double aid for developing countries.
"Ten million children under the age of five die every year - many of simple, preventable causes like diarrhoea, pneumonia and malaria. If we know how to prevent these deaths, why are children still dying?"
People across the globe showed their support for Save the Children's "Make your Mark" campaign by printing their thumbprints on a petition.
Malcolm Bruce MP for Gordon said:
"I am happy to make my mark for Save the Children's campaign.
"As chair of International Development Committee we've spoken out strongly against appalling figures in maternal mortality and the implications for children and I have supported the campaign to provide education to all children, especially girls. We stand squarely behind the British Government's commitment to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals especially for women and children. "
ENDS
Notes:
Photograph acknowledgement goes to Teri Pengilley, Save the Children UK. Pictured L-R are Hannah Culff, Russell Brown MP, Josh White, Malcolm Bruce MP, Steve Haines and Louisa Jones.
Visit www.savethechildren.org.uk/makeyourmark for more information on the campaign.
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