Save the Children today announced their No Child Born to Die campaign, calling for an end to the deaths of millions of children who die from easily preventable causes every year with the message, 'Every child should be given a chance to live their dreams'.
The campaign launch was attended by the charity's celebrity ambassadors including Alexandra Burke and Natasha Kaplinsky.
Save the Children's chief executive, Justin Forsyth said at the event: "It is shocking in this day and age that 4000 children a day are dying of something as simple as diarrhoea or pneumonia: what a senseless waste of young lives. 'No Child Born to Die' is all about getting the great British public mobilised to put a stop to this scandal."
X-factor singer Alexandra Burke, who has visited Save the Children's work in Haiti last year said, "I held a tiny malnourished baby boy, Jean-Dakins, in my hands in Haiti last year. It was obvious he probably wouldn't survive in those conditions without this charity's help. I really hope people will dig deep and lend Save the Children's campaign their support."
Many other celebrities have recorded special messages of support for the campaign, revealing what they were 'born to' do. Simon Cowell joked that he was 'Born to be a pain in the arse', adding 'I'm backing Save the Children's campaign 'No Child Born to Die' because around the world each year, eight million children die of preventable causes."
David Beckham,has also given his support and features in a TV advert about the campaign, is premiering tonight, along with other world icons like Nelson Mandela, Usain Bolt and Darcey Bussell.
Helena Bonham Carter – a new ambassador for the campaign - voiced the TV advert, which centres on the amazing potential of all children and was filmed in Tanzania with youngsters who are benefiting from Save the Children's work.
The campaign was launched as the charity condemned the funding crisis facing a key global immunisation programme. Without more cash, new life-saving vaccines for pneumonia and diarrhoea could not be rolled out, potentially costing up to a million children's lives a year.
To sign up and show your support for the campaign visit www.savethechildren.org.uk. There you will find more information about 'No Child Born to Die', ways to get involved and real life stories of hope. Or Text I WILL TO 64118 (standard rates apply)
Up to one million child deaths could be prevented a year (up to 550,000 prevented by the pneumonia vaccine and 490,000 by the rotavirus vaccine).
Pneumonia kills 1.6 million under fives annually and diarrhoeal diseases 1.3 million annually. These are the two biggest child killers. This amounts to 4,383 per day for pneumonia and 3,561 for diarrhoea. (The Lancet, 2008).