Health is an issue that touches everyone, and those most affected are the most vulnerable among us - children. On November 20, 1989, the United Nations adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This was the first time a treaty sought to address the particular human rights of children and to set minimum standards for the protection of their rights. Children's right to health is a major theme throughout the document, receiving mention in 11 out of it's 54 Articles. The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the most widely accepted human rights treaty - of all the United Nations member states, only the United States and the collapsed state of Somalia have not ratified it.

In 2000 world governments committed themselves to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which are 8 targets aimed at poverty reduction and development. MDG4 is specifically focused on child survival and calls for a two-thirds reduction in the under-five mortality rate between 1990 and 2015. Only a small number of countries are on track to reach this target, and at current rates of progress MDG4 will not be achieved globally until 2045.

That's why Save the Children and the Every Human Has Rights campaign are working together to help get the world back on track to drastically reduce the numbers of children dying before they reach their fifth birthday. We are championing the right to the highest attainable standard of health, including access to basic health care and adequate nutrition, in line with the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international instruments.

The world needs to act now to realize children's right to health and stop children dying. 2008 is both the year in which we mark the 60th anniversary of the UDHR, and a crucial opportunity for world governments to finally meet their commitments to reduce child deaths. It's time to reach out to the very poorest and most marginalised children, who are dying in the millions.

Sixty years have passed since the UDHR's adoption, yet nearly 10 million children are still dying every year for lack of access to basic healthcare and adequate nutrition. While the death of a child in infancy has become a rare occurrence in wealthy countries, it remains shockingly commonplace in many of the world's poorest nations:

• 1) 99% of all child deaths occur in developing countries
• 2) In Sierra Leone, 1 in 4 children die before they reach their fifth birthday.

Many of these children die of illnesses like pneumonia and diarrhoea, things we can easily prevent and treat.

Clearly the principles of human dignity and equality enshrined with the UDHR are at odds with the shocking reality of preventable child deaths in the world's poorest countries.

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