Preventable illnesses such as malaria and respiratory infections claim the lives of far too many children each year.

Abundant Health will seek to interconnect the resources, capacities, and skills of the people of the United

Methodist Church to provide education about diseases and to work with health professionals around the world to

treat and prevent the devastating e�ects of disease. This collaborative e�ort will provide lifesaving assistance to

children worldwide.

If we can imagine no malaria, we can imagine abundant health.

W O R L D W I D E , 6 M I L L I O N C H I L D R E N

U N D E R 5 D I E E V E R Y Y E A R

The World Health Organization has named childhood obesity as one

of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century.

In the United States childhood obesity has more than doubled in

children (aged 6-11) and more than quadrupled in adolescents (aged

12-19) in the past 30 years. Today, approximately 25 million children are

obese or overweight.

Childhood obesity is a precursor to several chronic illnesses like

diabetes, high blood pressure, arthritis, and cancer. Prevention of

childhood obesity is a major area of focus for Abundant Health.

C H I L D H O O D O B E S I T Y R A T E S

A R E C L I M B I N G

PREVENTABLEILLNESSES

DOUBLED IN CHILDREN

QUADRUPLED IN ADOLESCENTS

M A L A R I A

D I A R R H E A

B I R T HCOMPLICATIONS

RESPIRATORYINFECTIONS

C H I L D H O O D O B E S I T Y H A S M O R E T H A N

IN THE U.S. ,

A N D M O R E T H A N

I N T H E P A S T 3 0 Y E A R S.

To promote

the phys ica l ,

sp i r i tua l , menta l

and emot iona l hea l th o f

ch i ldren wor ldwide , The

Un i ted Method is t Church commits

to reach ing 1 mi l l ion ch i ldren w i th

l i fesav ing in tervent ions by the year 2020 .

Abundant

O U R P R O M I S E T O C H I L D R E N

We are united by Jesus’s words in John 10:10, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” As a follower of Jesus Christ, here’s what you can do to fulfill our promise to children in every place:

G E T I N V O L V E D

EDUCATE AND INFORM

Learn about children’s health challenges, what your church is doing to prevent them and how you can participate. Share this message with friends, family, coworkers and others, and invite them to get involved in this movement to make a di�erence in the lives of children.

RAISE FUNDS

Put your faith into action by donating to the e�ort to reach 1 million children with lifesaving interventions.

ADVOCATE FOR GLOBAL HEALTH

We are not alone in this work, and many of our partners are supported in part or full by the U.S. government. United Methodists are called to actively advocate for the protection of funding for global health issues and supporting health programs in the U.S., especially for maternal and child health.

ENGAGE YOUR COMMUNITY

We seek to engage at least 10,000 churches to develop support systems for health care treatment, education and prevention in their surrounding communities. We encourage your church to engage its neighboring communities in the following ways:

Promoting physical activities Tobacco and drug-free living education

Encouraging healthy diet and nutrition Mental health education and promotion

Abundant

O U R P R O M I S E T O C H I L D R E N

O U R P R O M I S E T O C H I L D R E N

As the people of The United Methodist Church, we will live up to our promise for

children by imagining abundant health for every child in every place by:

Ensuring safe births

Many health facilities in underserved areas lack key infrastructure and equipment for childbirth. These facilities often lack qualified medical practitioners. The United Methodist Church will provide assistance in places that lack the necessary resources to ensure safe conditions during childbirth.

Advancing prevention and treatment of childhood diseases

According to the World Health Organization, nearly half of child deaths are linked to malnutrition. Conditions such as pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria are also leading causes of child deaths. The United Methodist Church is committed to promoting health education, along with providing services that place the prevention of priority childhood illnesses at the forefront.

Advancing nutritional challenges and promoting breastfeeding

Optimal breastfeeding of infants under 2 years of age has the greatest potential impact on child survival of all preventive interventions, with the potential to prevent over 800,000 deaths (13 percent of all deaths) in children under 5 in the developing world. (Source: Lancet 2013).

We commit to promoting breastfeeding for infant nutrition and responding to malnutrition and childhood obesity.

Promote children’s health and wholeness

Limited financial resources and inadequate access to health services often a�ect the willingness of people to seek treatment for children with illnesses. The United Methodist Church aims to eliminate barriers to health and medical services and encourage people around the world to seek proper medical treatment in these instances.

N O W , J U S T I M A G I N E A B U N D A N T H E A L T H

Over the past decade, we as a church have experienced God’s abundance through

the gifts and graces of those who supported the Imagine No Malaria initiative.

But there’s more work to do. The next step in our global health initiative is

to fulfill our calling as a global church by reaching 1 million children with

lifesaving and health-promoting measures by 2020.

— John 10:10, NRSV

“I came that they may have life,and have it abundantly.”

UMCAbundantHealth.org UMCMission.org