[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 90 (Tuesday, June 16, 2009)]
[House]
[Page H6832]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                        DAY OF THE AFRICAN CHILD

  (Mr. PAYNE asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAYNE. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to recognize the Day of the 
African Child, which has been celebrated on June 16 each year since 
1991 when it was first initiated by the Organization of African Unity, 
the predecessor to the African Union.
  This year, the African Union has designated child survival as the 
theme of this year's Day of the African Child.
  According to the United Nations Children's Fund, sub-Saharan Africa 
remains the most difficult place in the world for a child to survive. 
Each year in sub-Saharan Africa, 1.2 million babies die in their first 
month of life. Roughly, one in every six children fails to reach his 
5th birthday. In response to these shocking statistics, the African 
Union made child survival a theme for their 15th meeting coming up in 
2010.
  The top five killers of children under age 5 include neonatal causes 
such as respiratory infections, pneumonia, malaria, diarrhea, and HIV/
AIDS.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we encourage the legislators to support this, and I 
join in solidarity with UNICEF for the African child.

                          ____________________