USAID Asks for Birthday Photos

Can a photo from your fifth birthday help save a child somewhere in the world?  The U.S. Agency for International Development believes it can. This week the agency is promoting its Every Child Deserves a Fifth Birthday program.  The campaign is being launched during Social Media Week (Feb 18-22) in Washington, D.C.  

USAID is asking for fifth-birthday photos (and posting them on its website) to help draw attention to the fact that millions of children in developing nations do not live past their fifth birthday.  In addition to submitting the photo, the agency is seeking to have participants use social media to spread word of the program.

In a video statement, USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah underscored the importance of  social media in furthering international development goals, specifically how it represents the future of communication and already helps to unite people worldwide.  To explain more about how social media is used by the agency to meet its goals, a panel discussion is being hosted at the conference entitled: USAID: Using Social Media to Aid International Development. 

Planet Aid applauds USAID’s focus on this critical issue and its use of social media to generate momentum and spread awareness. We are strong supporters of programs aimed at helping disadvantaged youth survive and develop.  For example, in Zimbabwe we partnered with a local organization to implement a USAID program to provide 10,000 individuals, including orphans and vulnerable children, with high-protein meals to help them survive lean periods. In Mozambique, we are embarking on a new USDA initiative to feed school children.  

We wish USAID success with its new campaign. More importantly, we wish all the children of the world a very happy fifth birthday along with many more to come.