Severe malnutrition and "a devastating decision that no mother should ever have to make" - Rovina's Choice : Shared by John Gilmartin

Editor's Note:  While Rovina's Choice illuminates the devastating impact of cuts in USAID, its message extends far beyond one agency. The film confronts us with a stark reality: behind every foreign aid debate lie families forced to make impossible choices. Through one mother's struggle to feed her children, we witness the human cost of policy decisions made in distant capitals. 

Please share this film widely. Send it to friends and family. Show it in your faith communities and civic groups. These stories need to be seen.

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Hi everyone,

The New Yorker has produced a 25 minute documentary on severe malnutrition and the impact of the USAID shutdown. Its called Rovina’s Choice. Atul Gawande narrates it. I think it’s brilliant.

They have decided to make the film available without subscription via their YouTube channel.

Please have a look.  Consider:

• how best to promote this work.
• How would Jim Grant have dealt with today’s situation? Many of you knew him very well and worked tirelessly to make Jim’s visions come into some form of reality. 
• What would Carol Bellamy do today or back in her day? She’s still with us, what is her guidance now?

We have a whole team of former leaders, have we asked them for their guidance? I realize former officials have responsibilities and experience that may well be telling them, now is not a time to voice opinions nor complaints.

I also asked myself:

•  "What is the unicef communication team doing to address the same issues taken up here by The New Yorker?" Silence in a negotiation is a form of tacit agreement.
• How do we  (I think I’ll go to my grave still believing I’m part of unicef) demonstrate the value of unicef’s work and its impact on children and mothers? 
• Can we do that in a compelling 20 minute video? I’d like to see the equivalent unicef of Atul Gawande / New Yorker.

Those are my first thoughts.

Thanks John

"Rovina's Choice" Shows How The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands"

The short documentary “Rovina’s Choice” tells the story of what goes when aid goes away.

Summary
"Rovina's Choice" Shows How The Shutdown of U.S.A.I.D. Has Already Killed Hundreds of Thousands, details the devastating human impact of the Trump administration's dismantling and cutting of funds for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the world's largest provider of food and health assistance. The video argues that the abrupt cessation of food deliveries and foreign aid has an immediate "blast zone," harming the vulnerable and insecure

The Story of Jane

The video highlights the case of 15-month-old Jane (or Jen), who suffered from a severe form of malnutrition, experiencing organ failure, edema, and peeling skin . Despite previous medical advances that reduced the death rate for severe malnutrition in the camp from 20% to less than 1%—a "public health miracle"—the lack of funds and staffing led to a tragic outcome. Due to the minimal supervision caused by reduced staff, Jane’s mother took her home prematurely to seek food for her other starving children, a devastating decision the narrator stresses "no mother should ever have to make"