The Forbes Global 2000 Top-20 Can Do More to Help Reduce Under-5 Child Mortality

If the Forbes Global 2000 CEOs authorized an additional annual donation of 0.07% and 0.08% from their corporations' annual revenue and assets, respectively, to the World Food Programme and the United Nations, over 60,000,000 deaths of children can be prevented in 2010-2020.<br /><br />

According to UNICEF’s Under-5 Mortality Dashboard (goo.gl/HJm2i), 80M+ children aged 1-5 succumbed to under-5 mortality (U5M) in 2000-2010, and 7M children in 2011 alone. If we stay on this course, 60,000,000+ children will succumb to U5M in the period 2010-2020. This is incomprehensible in an era of Moore’s Law.<br /><br />

According to the United Nations’ World Food Programme (WFP.org), $1USD per day can supply a child a day’s worth of nutrition. In order to prevent 7M children aged 1-5 dying each year due to deaths attributable to starvation and/or malnutrition, is it too much to ask the CEOs of the Forbes Global 2000 Top-20 to make an annual donation of (a) at least an additional combined USD $3B to the World Food Programme calculated from their corporations' annual revenues, and (b) at least an additional combined USD $15B to a fund allocated to establishing long-term, equitable, and local supplies of potable water and farm-fresh nutritious produce calculated from their corporations' assets?<br /><br />

The combined total revenue and assets of the Forbes Global 2000 Top-20 for 2012 was $4,001B and $19,729B, respectively. An additional annual donation of $3B and $15B would be 0.07% and 0.08% of their combined total revenue and assets, respectively, for 2012. A penny a day from the Top-20 CEOs to prevent 5,864,184 children under-5 years of age dying between March 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 ( 19,165 deaths per day). Doesn't seem like too much to ask, does it? Imagine what we could accomplish with an additional annual 0.07% and 0.08% from the Forbes Global 2000, not just the Top-20.<br /><br />

Vignette ...<br /><br />

My name is Paribas. As I'm walking to the local co-op farmer's market for free fresh fruits and vegetables, I see a homeless family. I have $119 in my pocket and $2,539 in my bank account. I think to myself: Tomorrow is April 10 - “April Full's Day”, which only comes around once per year. I give them all the change I have in my pocket, $2.02.<br /><br />

For those of us SNAPing (United States Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), receiving an average of $134.43 per month ($4.41659 or $4.42 per day), this is equivalent to $0.003356, not even a penny ($119+$2,539 = $2,658; $2.02/$2,658 = 0.00075997; $4.41659/day * 0.00075997 = $0.003356; $4.41659-$0.003356=$4.41323 ~ $4.41). So in essence, those of us on SNAP, if we were a Forbes 2000 CEO, in order to support the homeless woman and her children, could either (a) say "Sorry, do you have change for a penny?", (b) give her a penny ($0.01) per day over the course of the year, or (c) give her $2.02 per year, to prevent her family from dying of starvation and/or malnutrition.<br /><br />

Download, Print, and/or Share PDF File: http://goo.gl/C8a9p<br /><br />

Please sign and share the petition at petitions.whitehouse.gov: http://wh.gov/wJIx<br />

(It needs 100,000 signatures by March 31, 2013)<br /><br />

Sign related petitions here:<br /><br />

* REDUCE THE UNDER-5 MORTALITY RATE IN ALL COUNTRIES AND REGIONS TO LESS THAN 10 BY APRIL 10, 2020 (http://goo.gl/58sk6)<br /><br />

* THE VATICAN: HOLY SEE CAN DO MORE TO HELP REDUCE UNDER-5 CHILD MORTALITY (http://goo.gl/naNBm)<br /><br />

* HOW THE TOP 1,000 SUPPASTARS CAN BRING UNDER-5 MORTALITY TO NEAR 0 TODAY (http://goo.gl/ZL1JF)<br /><br />