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Why are the most vulnerable forgotten?
Summary
One Just World joins with World Vision to launch its Global Health Campaign Child Health Now
Over nine million children under five are dying each year. We have the solutions to make a difference, so why is this still happening?
One in every twelve children in Cambodia die before their fifth birthday. Similar situations are happening every day in developing countries around the world. Many die from preventable causes such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria. Through the Millennium Development Goals wealthy countries like Australia promised to tackle this situation. We all have a moral responsibility to help. Australia has made some progress, but much more needs to be done.
We know that two-thirds of these deaths could be prevented within five years. The solutions are simple and low cost. Breastfeeding, improved maternal health and clean water can save lives right now.
What’s missing? We’re not working together. Poor communities, international organisations, governments and people in developed countries, including Australia, all need to join forces to tackle this shocking violation of children's rights and stop children from dying. It can be done but we need your help. Come along to this special One Just World forum to find out how you can use your voice to speak up for the rights of children everywhere.
Venue |
BMW Edge, Federation Square, Melbourne, VIC |
Date & time |
Wednesday, 25 November 2009 5:30 PM |
Feature Video - Rebecca Gibney in Malawi
MODERATOR
Lee Lin Chin – Presenter SBS TV
Lee Lin is a television news and programme presenter of many years' standing with the public broadcaster SBS. An immigrant of Chinese descent from Singapore, she is sensitive to and completely at home in a multicultural, cosmopolitan environment and in her relations over the course of her professional and personal lives with people from all corners of the globe. She considers herself extremely lucky to be working in an area dealing with global issues, both of a social/cultural/arts and political nature as these are areas of life of intense personal interest. She's also grateful that her work outside of but complementary to her SBS role brings her in contact with the many spheres which make up our increasingly complex world.
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SPEAKERS
Trevor Duke – Director of the Centre for International Child Health at the University of Melbourne
Trevor is a paediatrician at the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne, and has broad experience in all aspects of child health in developing countries. He previously worked in Goroka, Papua New Guinea, and is Adjunct Professor of Child Health in the School of Medicine at the University of PNG. Trevor is on the Child Health Advisory Committee of the National Department of Health and also works closely with paediatricians in the Solomon Islands, Indonesia and Fiji. He heads the World Health Organisation Collaborating Centre for Research and Training in Child and Neonatal Health in Melbourne. He was involved in designing and implementing the WHO / UNICEF Child Survival Strategy and the International Child Health Review Collaboration. He was an author and editor of the WHO Pocketbook of Hospital Care for Children, which has been translated into more than a dozen languages and is used in over 30 developing countries.
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Sue Ndwala – Maternal and Child Health Advisor, World Vision Australia
Sue Ndwala is consultant midwife with 20 years of midwifery experience, with a focus on midwifery education. She holds qualifications in nursing, midwifery, child health, sexual health and education and has extensive experience in Australia and overseas. Her cross cultural work experiences have included Ethiopia, Southern Sudan, and Timor Leste. Her passion is to contribute to raising the capacity for rural communities and district health systems in developing countries aimed at improving maternal, newborn and infant health and reduce mortality. Sue returned to Australia in 2008 following 18 months in Timor Leste managing a rural remote area maternal and child health project.
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Ermelinda da Costa Monteiro - Midwife and Maternal Health Trainer, East Timor
Ermelinda Monteiro is a Maternal Health Nurse from Timor Leste, who has worked for fifteen years to ensure and improve maternal health for both mothers and babies within her community. For 7 of these years she has worked as a midwife at Community Health Centres and for 8 years as a educator and trainer at the National Institute of Health Sciences in Dili, Timor Leste. In 2008 she was awarded a UNIFEM Australia Peace Scholarship and is currently studying Perth to continue her education in health promotion for mothers and babies. Her goal is to improve maternal health and education regarding family planning and to reduce the maternal mortality rate and the infant mortality rate in Timor Leste.
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Sri Chander – Asia-Pacific Regional Health Advisor, World Vision
As the Asia-Pacific Regional Health Advisor of World Vision, Dr Sri Chander leads a regional team to provide technical support to World Vision Offices in 17 countries in the Asia-Pacific region from his Singapore home base. Sri’s team develops and oversees all World Vision’s strategic and regional health policy, including the coordination of 36 HIV/AIDS prevention and control projects, 28 child survival and reproductive projects, and 7 tuberculosis prevention and control projects. Sri has a medical degree from the National University of Singapore and a Master’s of Public Health degree from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. He has extensive experience in the design, monitoring and evaluation of large-scale maternal and child health and nutrition, immunization, TB and HIV/AIDS programs. He is also concurrently an Adjunct Associate Professor in Public Health at the National University of Singapore.
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Tim Costello – Chief Executive, World Vision Australia
Tim Costello is one of Australia’s leading voices on social justice issues. He's taken a prominent role in national debates on issues such as gambling, urban poverty, homelessness, reconciliation and substance abuse. Tim's also been instrumental in keeping the issues surrounding global poverty on the national agenda since February 2004, when he joined World Vision Australia as Chief Executive. His passion for alleviating the suffering of poor communities in the developing world came to the fore in the days and weeks following the 2004 tsunami that devastated coastal communities in Southeast Asia. His activism and leadership, and the generosity of countless Australians, helped World Vision Australia raise more than $100 million for tsunami relief. Tim has also played a prominent role in the Make Poverty History campaign. In April 2008 he chaired the Strengthening Communities, Supporting Families and Social Inclusion Committee of the Australian Government’s 2020 Summit in Canberra. In 2004, Tim was named Victorian of the Year; in June 2005 he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO); and in 2006 he was named Victorian Australian of the Year.
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Sigrid Thornton - Actress
One of Australia's leading and best loved actresses, Sigrid Thornton has starred in many television, film and theatre productions that are now regarded as milestones in the Australian industry. Notably she has performed to sold-out audiences across Australia in The Blue Room, in addition to taking the lead in the popular ABC series, SeaChange, which broke all ratings records for the national broadcaster becoming the No. 1 drama show on national television.
Sigrid’s leading roles in The Man From Snowy River and the highly successful mini series All The Rivers Run resulted in one of the first US network series roles created for an Australian actress in the popular western series Paradise. Some of her other credits include The Lighthorsemen, 1915, Snapshot, The Last Outlaw, Getting Of Wisdom, Slate, Wyn & Me, FJ Holden, the mini-series The Boy In The Bush, Whipping Boy, The Far Country and Great Expectations – The Untold Story. Sigrid has made a significant contribution behind the cameras on behalf of the film and television industry, the arts and various charities and continues to work extensively for children’s charities, Royal Victorian Institute for the Blind, World Vision and the Animis Foundation.
Sigrid appeared alongside Oscar nominee Brenda Blethyn in a national tour of ‘Talking Heads’ - a production of Alan Bennett monologues in which Sigrid performs ‘Her Big Chance’.
Most recently Sigrid played the role of Desiree in Opera Australia production of A Little Night Music.
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Tracey Spicer - Broadcaster and Journalist
Tracey is one of the most experienced and respected female news presenters on Australian television with a career spanning 20 years, encompassing newsreading, documentary making, reporting and radio broadcasting. Renowned for her integrity, sharp mind and calm manner, Tracey is currently an international anchor with Sky News, and for ten years was the face of Network Ten’s national Weekend News and mid-week 11am News. However, Tracey has always been, first and foremost, a journalist. Among the highlights of her career are two documentaries on World Vision’s in Bangladesh and Kenya. In 2001, she produced a documentary for WWF on the lack of fresh water sources in villages devastated by deforestation in PNG; and the following year a documentary on controversial radio personality Alan Jones. Tracey is in high demand as a speaker and MC, hosting hundreds of corporate functions including the Ronald McDonald Ball and World Vision’s prestigious International Women’s Day dinner. She is outspoken about the modern day pressures on women and men to juggle work and family, and is currently working with the union movement to educate women about their rights upon return from maternity leave. Tracey is an Ambassador for World Vision and a passionate advocate for maternal and child health.
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