MEDIA ADVISORY FOR MONDAY AUGUST 22 at 1 PM EDT
Please Call 202-467-1457 for Details on How to Join Conference Call

(August 18, 2005) Reps. Christopher Shays (R-CT) and Nita Lowey
(D-NY)—original co-sponsors of new legislation to bolster safeguards for women and children in emergencies—will join Save the Children's senior child protection specialist, Christine Knudsen, in a telephone news conference to discuss the need for Congress to pass the legislation. Commentator Cokie Roberts, who serves on the board of trustees of Save the Children, will moderate the discussion.

Entitled The Women and Children in Crisis and Conflict Protection Act of 2005, the legislation would help ensure that strategies to protect women and children are better integrated into all humanitarian responses supported by the U.S. government.

While the United States for years has led the world in helping provide food, water, shelter and health care to victims of natural and man-made disasters, the protection of children and women often becomes a secondary concern in these humanitarian response efforts. The legislation would help protect women and children from threats that emerge as a result of conflicts and emergencies.

The audio news conference will take place on Monday August 22 at
1 pm EDT. Please call 202-467-1457 for instructions on how to join the conference call.

Media Contacts:

Save the Children -- Mike Kiernan: 202-261-4686; cell: 202-460-0614;
E-mail: mkiernan@dc.savechildren.org

Rep. Christopher Shays— Sarah Moore: 202-225-5541; cell: 703-599-0038;
E-mail: sarah.moore@mail.house.gov

Rep. Nita Lowey— Julie Edwards, 202-225-6506; cell: 202-225-4542;
Email: julie.edwards@mail.house.gov

Save the Children is the leading independent organization creating lasting change for children in need in the United States and around the world. Save the Children USA is a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, a global network of 27 independent Save the Children organizations working to ensure the well-being and protection of children in more than 110 countries.
For more information, visit www.savethechildren.org