SCCS History

The Student Campaign for Child Survival (SCCS) was launched in the fall of 2002 as the 2nd campaign of our parent organization, Global Justice, and as the first organized national grassroots movement for global children's health. SCCS held a kickoff conference in November 2002, with over sixty students representing 28 schools from around the country. Since then, students at campuses nationwide have been organizing strong SCCS chapters. Campus chapters advocate for increased funding from the US government for children's health programs and they also attempt to make a direct impact on children's lives through our GlobaLocal Initiative. In just one year, SCCS was transformed from a promising idea into a national movement. Today, SCCS continues to collaborate with groups in the advocacy, health and development communities to promote legislative action in support of child survival.

SCCS Year One (2002-2003)

Received $100,000 in support from the Rockefeller Brother’s Fund

Held 2 National Conferences that attracted students from 38 campuses all across the country

Wrote over 1000 letters to congressmen about child survival. Students at Utah State collected over 200 letters from their campus in a month.

Held 62 meetings with key Congressional offices on Capitol Hill in a single day to be an active voice for children's health.

Convinced 4 Congressmen to write letters expressing their specific support for a $100 million increase in child survival funding to the Committee that was making this decision.

Helped convince the House of Representatives to increase funding for child health programs by over $50 million in that year’s budget.

Held multiple fundraisers across the country in order to directly help children in need.

Published approximately a dozen articles related to SCCS or child survival

Formed partnerships and received support from key organizations like the US Fund for UNICEF, Global Health Council, and Save the Children, as well as international partners.

SCCS Year Two (2003-2004)

Hired our first permanent staff person, Jennifer Longfellow, who served as SCCS’s National Coordinator.

Held our third National Conference in March 2004, which was attended by over 106 students from 39 schools in 25 states and which culminated in a Lobby Day with more than sixty meetings on Capitol Hill.

Generated nearly 1,500 postcards from students across the country that urged legislators to support an increase in child survival funding to $660 million for USAID and $130 million for UNICEF.

Served as the driving force behind the first-ever Dear Colleague letter in the House of Representatives that asked for an increase in funding for USAID child survival programs and that was sponsored by Representative Rosa DeLauro.

Met in person with Rep. DeLauro, which resulted in her making a statement on the House floor in support of child survival programs; this was the first time such a statement had ever been made.

Published op-eds in campus newspapers on Universal Children's Day to draw attention to the ongoing crisis of child mortality worldwide.

Mailed hundreds of "Unhappy Birthday" cards to the IMF and World Bank on their fiftieth anniversary in support of Jubilee USA's campaign for full debt cancellation for developing countries.

Raised money to support the Red Cross Measles Initiative.

Campaign members participated in the first-ever Global Justice delegation trip to Haiti and played key roles in the establishment of Global Justice working groups in the area of Haiti and debt.

Formed a partnership with U.S. Fund for UNICEF campus chapters that enabled us to cosponsor our national conference with them.

SCCS Year Three (2004-2005)

Hired our new national coordinator, Saif Rahman, in August 2004.

Expanded our focus to encompass broader global justice issues that are integrally linked to child survival, such as full funding for the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and supporting poverty alleviation goals set out in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

Maintained an active role in the Jubilee 2000 coalition and participated in its groundbreaking campaigns that pressured the G-8 to endorse full debt cancellation for developing countries.

Held a regional conference at Stanford in the fall and at Yale in the spring in order to facilitate regional networking, training and recruiting.

Sent several SCCS students to the Global Health Council’s annual conference in Washington, DC for enlightening and educational workshops on the challenges of delivering health interventions to those in need.

Commemorated World Health Day with speakers, fundraisers and events on campuses across the country

Helped found the University Coalition for Global Health in partnership with Global Health Council, UNICEF, SGAC and Student Partnerships Worldwide

In February, 2005, students from 30 schools around the country gathered at Georgetown University for a weekend of education, inspiration, and action in support of child survival.

Through workshops and a speakers panel, students learned about child survival and related issues, such as US foreign assistance, the Millennium Development Goals, debt cancellation, trade justice, and domestic children's issues

In addition, Anthony Lake of the US Fund for UNICEF Board of Directors and Ronald Waldman of the Center for Global Health and Economic Development at Columbia University gave key-note addresses on the crisis of child mortality and strategies for supporting child survival.

Students used the knowledge and skills they gained at the conference to advocate the CHILD Act, 100% multilateral debt cancellation and $1.5 billion in funding for the Global Fund for AIDS, TB and Malaria in meetings with 34 Senator and 15 Representative offices on Capitol Hill.

We received many extremely positive responses from staffers on Lobby Day and followed up on our initial successes through a spring semester of advocacy in support of child survival.

SCCS Year Four (2005-2006)

Conducted Malaria Outbreak campaigns across the country to draw attention to this major childhood killer.

Attended a Millennium Development Goals Youth Summit at New York University before the World Summit at the UN headquarters in September.

Organized a National Day of Action for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB, and Malaria, including calls, faxes and letters to key Senator and Congressional offices that urged them to support full funding for the Global Fund.

Participated in the Rx for Survival campaign that included television, radio, and magazine coverage of global health challenges, as well as a community outreach initiative focused on child survival. Chapters organized screenings of the TV specials, benefit concerts, tabling activities and discussions of the global health issues addressed in the Rx campaign.

Advocated for the Focus on Family Health Worldwide Act of 2005, a bi-partisan bill that authorizes more U.S. funding for international family planning programs over the next five years.

Organized a National Week of Action for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria in conjunction with SGAC. Chapters across the country called and faxed Senator Frist’s office to advocate full funding of the Global Fund, while students in DC delivered cups of coffee to Frist’s to encourage him to “wake up and fund the Global Fund” and held an early morning rally on Capitol Hill.

Sent Coordinating Committee members to a conference at the University of London titled "Tracking Progress in Child Survival: Countdown to 2015," which reviewed progress towards achieving high and equitable coverage with essential child survival interventions and reductions in child mortality.