Dear Evidence Action Supporter,

Whether it’s helping curb the main cause of disability in India or preventing the second-leading cause of death among children, Evidence Action has a significant role to play in improving the health of children and families — often for solutions which are proven to work yet neglected on a global scale. Now, we’re thinking bigger than ever before.

A case in point: syphilis screening and treatment for pregnant women is one of the best buys in global health. Each year, mother-to-child transmission of syphilis results in a combined 200,000 stillbirths and infant deaths — more than the child mortality caused by HIV. This is unnecessary;  a single penicillin shot costing less than US$0.50 can prevent over 80% of adverse outcomes. 

The challenge is knowing who to treat — but we have a solution for that too. Countries can leverage a decades-long investment in programs preventing mother-to-child HIV transmission, where testing rates are already high — and switching from an HIV-only test to an HIV/syphilis dual test costs only an additional US$0.35.

We can close this gap quickly and cost-effectively in partnership with governments. With our technical support, five counties in Liberia increased their syphilis screening among prenatal care attendees by nearly six-fold in less than three years. Based on this success, we’ve received support from GiveWell to expand to Cameroon and Zambia. Now, we are seeking additional support to help us expand to Nigeria.

We know the path forward, and we have momentum from our results so far — now we need investment to take this intervention to greater scale. Will you join us to help save thousands of children’s lives?

Onwards together, 

Kanika Bahl
Chief Executive Officer
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