Every year, almost 9 million children in the developing world die of largely preventable or treatable illnesses before they reach the age of five - that equates to approximately 24,000 child deaths a day.

Leading causes of death include pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and newborn complications which can be prevented or treated. However, many children live in marginalized urban and rural areas which lack access to trained health professionals and well-equipped health facilities.

In order to reach the most at-risk children, basic healthcare must be delivered directly to families as close to home as possible. The bridge between this life saving care and a sick child is the local health worker. Local health workers are selected within the community and are trained to assess, classify, and treat, or refer children with signs of infection, disease, and other life-threatening conditions.

Local health workers may be skilled medical assistants, nurses or midwives. In addition to bringing life saving care to their communities, they also promote healthy behaviors such as encouraging proper hand-washing.

Americans are encouraged to become part of the solution to newborn and child survival through supporting local health workers. The website www.GoodGoes.org offers a variety of ways to get involved, and lets one see the positive impact their support is having in the developing world. Less