The president of the Uganda Pediatric Association is working to spread awareness about her current legislation working to end preventable child and maternal deaths worldwide.
Rebecca Nantanda spoke to the members of Rebel Global Connections, Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College and the Croft Institute of International studies on Wednesday.
The University was just one stop on Nantanda’s national advocacy tour to promote her campaign.
(Rebecca Nantanda (left), president of the Uganda Pediatric Association, Amanda Beals (center), RESULTS Global Grassroots Expansion Manager and John Chappell, Advocacy Chair of the Rebel Global Connections | Timothy Steenwyk)
Nantanda was inspired to partner with RESULTS Global Grassroots Expansion, a non-governmental organization aimed at tackling poverty and global issues.
More than 6 million children die of preventable diseases before reaching their fifth birthday annually, meaning 11 children die each minute.
According to Nantanda, 25 percent of the Ugandan population lives on less than $1 per day.
“It’s not so much about building hospitals and using advanced technology and training,” Nantanda said. “It’s about creating simple, affective, sustainable and have high-impact interventions that will ultimately save lives.”
In Uganda, Nantanda has implemented a preparation kit for mothers, a Maama Kit, which promotes a clean child delivery. The kit includes simple supplies like gloves, plastic sheet and soap, cotton which are often inaccessible to a typical Ugandan mother.
Nantanda said her main goal for this initiative is to see the Reach Act passed because it has the potential to affect every mother across the world.
“I would like to see the voices of people everywhere being heard and the bill being passed,” Nantanda said. “Every mother will benefit from being as part of an agenda in the national health plan, even the mother I’m representing all the way from Uganda.”
RESULTS Global Grassroots Expansion Manager Amanda Beals accompanied Nantanda on her visit to Ole Miss and has played a role in spreading the word of advocacy.
Beals said the work RESULTS is doing is the biggest kept secret, but is looking forward to making that secret a reality.
“We’re talking about ending preventable maternal and child deaths in our generation in the next 20 years,” Beals said. “That’s a big deal.”
According to Beals, 24 countries contribute to 75 percent of the deaths of children under age 5. Beals said the Reach Act will promote a partnership with other countries to determine the best way to reduce these numbers.
“Currently, we are not working in a coordinated way,” Beals said. “It’s about a partnership with other countries, and we have to work together in order to reach this goal.”
RESULTS is also partnering with Rebel Global Connections, a student-led organization which promotes advocacy for global issues, in an effort to highlight this issue.
Advocacy Chair of RGC John Chappell has been working closely with both RESULTS and Nantanda to spark a debate among students and get them talking about something that is bigger than themselves.
“It all connects back to local programs,” Chappell said. “We can really make a difference, we can affect global change even though we are just undergraduate students and I hope people take up the call of action.”
Nantanda encourages young people to get involved with this advocacy movement and believes it is never too early to make a change globally.
“We are looking at the young people, and it’s the right time to start,” Nantanda said. “The undergraduates, you’re actually what we need. You’re actually the big picture we’re looking at. Having young people getting involved in advocacy work is important.”
