ADVISORY/First-Ever Study Assesses Health Needs of World's Newborns On Eve of UN Special Session.

Business Editors, Health/Medical Writers

ADVISORY...for Monday, September 10

--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Study and Global Initiative

Aim to Improve Newborn Survival

WHAT:   On the eve of the United Nations Special Session on Children
        (UNSS) in New York City, Save the Children, a leading
        international child development and relief organization, is
        releasing State of the World's Newborns, a first-ever report
        spotlighting the broad implications of newborn care and
        neglect. The report confirms that while child death rates have
        been reduced over the past decade, death rates among newborns
        (0-28 days) remain high. Newborn deaths constitute nearly half
        of those deaths occurring among children under age five.

        State of the World's Newborns is a publication issued by Save
        the Children's Saving Newborn Lives initiative, a global
        effort supported with a $50 million grant from the Bill &
        Melinda Gates Foundation to improve the health and survival of
        newborns in the developing world.

WHEN/   Monday, September 10; 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE:  National Press Club, Ballroom
        529 14th Street NW, Thirteenth floor, Washington, DC 20045
WHO:

        --  Cokie Roberts, Co-Anchor, "This Week with Sam Donaldson &
            Cokie Roberts" (Moderator)

        --  Nabeela Ali, M.D., Manager, Saving Newborn Lives, Save the
            Children Pakistan

        --  Anthony Costello, M.D., State of the World's Newborns
            Report Writer/Editor

        --  Charles MacCormack, President & CEO, Save the Children

        --  Sally Stansfield, M.D., Senior Program Officer of Global
            Health, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

        --  Anne Tinker, Director, Saving Newborn Lives, Save the
            Children

WHY:    Though newborn health is a key indicator of the health of
        communities and countries, it has been overlooked in child
        survival programs. In fact, every year, 4 million babies die
        during their first month of life. As world leaders turn their
        attention to the state of the world's children surrounding the
        UNSS, Save the Children will highlight this report, advocating
        for proven, affordable solutions to ensure that newborns
        survive and thrive.

NOTE:   Please RSVP by 9/9/01. Interviews with Save the Children
        experts, copies of the full report, and supporting b-roll
        footage and photography are available upon request.