Save the Children to Reach More Impoverished Afghan Children With Support From Khalifa Foundation

WESTPORT, CT, Jul 07 (MARKET WIRE) --
Save the Children today announced it will receive a two-year grant from
the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nehayan Foundation to improve the health,
nutrition, and education of Afghan children living in extreme poverty.

In Afghanistan, almost one in five children dies before age 5, almost half
the children are malnourished and only 10% of rural women are literate. To
address these grim indicators and the obstacles to sustainable development
they represent, the Khalifa Foundation will support Save the Children in
expanding programming in water and sanitation, childhood nutrition, and
education.

"Afghan children face some of the most difficult circumstances on earth,
but hygiene, nutrition, and education can save lives and open doors," said
Mohamed Haji Al Khoori, Executive Director of the Khalifa Foundation.
"When children have the opportunity to grow up strong, healthy, and
educated, they can transform their society. The children of Afghanistan
deserve this opportunity now."

Access to clean water and hygienic practices are critical to preventing
diseases that can be fatal for children. The Khalifa Foundation grant will
fund construction of wells, hand-washing stations, and latrines, and
ongoing education to support them.

Recent drought and rising food prices have exacerbated high rates of
malnutrition in Afghanistan. Khalifa Foundation support will allow Save
the Children to greatly expand proven community-based initiatives to treat
and prevent child malnutrition in Afghanistan.

Save the Children, as part of its Rewrite the Future campaign, has already
improved the quality of education for more than 2.5 million Afghan
children since 2005. Yet nearly 2 million children remain out of school;
66% of them girls. The Khalifa Foundation will fund Save the Children
programs to continue to improve education in Afghanistan and to increase
the number of women teachers, so that more girls can attend school.

"The Khalifa Foundation is making a great investment in the children and
the future of Afghanistan," said Charles MacCormack, President and CEO of
Save the Children. "By reaching more children with proven interventions
and strategic programming, we will save lives, reduce suffering, and
support the Afghan people in their quest for lasting development."

Learn more about Save the Children's Afghanistan programs here:
http://www.savethechildren.org/countries/asia/afghanistan.html

Save the Children is the leading independent organization that creates
lasting change for children in the United States and around the world.
The International Save the Children Alliance is a global network of 27
independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the
well-being and protection of children in more than 120 countries.

The Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation was established in Abu Dhabi in
2007 by the president of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi,
His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The foundation is an
independent entity dedicated to delivering aid and services to the poor
and students in all parts of the world. Areas of focus include support for
education, health and social service programs as well as the construction
of schools, hospitals, and orphanages.

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