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The #DiaperGap across America. Keeping Babies Healthy!

July 17, 2015 - Washington, DC, United States of America - U.S President Barack Obama greets nine-month-old Josephine Gronniger outside the Oval Office of the White House July 17, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Credit Image: © Pete Souza/Planet Pix via ZUMA Wire)
July 17, 2015 – Washington, DC, United States of America – U.S President Barack Obama greets nine-month-old Josephine Gronniger outside the Oval Office of the White House July 17, 2015 in Washington, DC. (Credit Image: © Pete Souza/Planet Pix via ZUMA Wire)

Did you know that almost one in three families struggle to afford diapers?  Probably, on some level, we all recognize that diapers are expensive, and that lower income families must find them difficult to afford.   But, the diaper situation is far more grave, as I learned when Cecilia Muñoz, the Assistant to President Obama and Director of the Domestic Policy Council, released for the White House a statement entitled The Diaper Divide.  This press release sheds light on the diaper challenge that is facing low-income families across America.

By the statistics, the lowest-income quintile of families with infants pay 14% of their income for diapers alone – an average of $936 for diapers, per child, each year.  Luke Tate, Special Assistant to the President for Economic Mobility, White House Domestic Policy Council & Josh Miller, Director of Product Management, White House explain that “there is no federal assistance for purchasing diapers, unlike other essentials like food or health insurance.” Thus, this astronomical financial strain leads families to make hard choices. When families can’t afford diapers for their babies, they are faced with a choice between buying diapers and paying for food, rent, or utilities like heat.  This often leads these families to make the choice to stretch the time between diaper changes to make them last longer, but this can lead to serious health problems for babies like severe diaper rash, urinary tract or staph infections!  That’s a choice that no parent should have to make, and that no nation should allow to occur.  Universally, health is considered a fundamental human right that all citizens, especially the tiniest, should be healthy.  Health is a most basic and essential human right (1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO); The 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights).

In stark contrast, I learned that copious higher income families pay less than half that amount for diapers than low-income families. The reason being that higher income families can purchase diapers for less because they have access to transportation to the big box store, the money to buy in bulk at thus cheaper prices, and the access to the internet to buy bulk shipment of diapers at a price far cheaper than the local supermarket.  Many lower income families lack cash to buy in bulk, and/or lack the Internet to purchase bulk online.  Thus, the lower prices and conveniences aren’t available to them. 

So, President Obama is spearheading a way to get lower cost diapers to families that that most need them.  The White House has highlighted a cross-sector strategy to expand access to affordable diapers for America’s poorest families. America really is a great nation; it is one where our President garners support from online retailers, diaper manufacturers, and non-profits that have partnered to expand access to diapers for families in need.  These commitments will help provide access to clean diapers for hundreds of thousands of American families in need, as follows:

First,  e-commerce company Jet, who sells and ships diapers and other goods is  leveraging their nationwide warehouses and logistics network to assist nonprofits in purchasing and receiving diaper orders (typically) within two days, for free. They also committed to sell these diapers with no profit to 501(c)(3) organizations serving families in need.

Second, First Quality, the makers of Cuties brand diapers, is designing a more effiicient packing to  cut the cost of manufacturing Cuties, a savings that they can then pass along to non-profits.

Third, the newly formed Community Diaper Program is now available to any 501(c)(3) organization in the United States. Now, any non-profit will able to purchase diapers up to 25% cheaper than the current available price, with no minimum order and 48 hour shipping. The National Diaper Bank Network (NDBN), which nationwide operates over 280 diaper banks, estimates that their members will order more than 15 million diapers through this program in 2016 alone!

Finally, Huggies and The Honest Company are both donating diapers- and lots of them!  Huggies will donate an additional two million free diapers to the National Diaper Bank Network, and will match any public donations up to one million diapers provided through their Huggies Rewards program.  This new donation is in addition to the 20 million diapers Huggies has already committed to the NDBN this year. Similarly, The Honest Company will donate up to one million of their diapers to Baby2Baby, among other non-profit organizations.

When you have a baby, diapers are a necessity.  As American citizens, let’s join President Obama and the network of businesses across American that are working to provide lower cost diaper options for all of our fellow citizens. No family should have to choose between keeping their babies healthy and keeping the lights on.

Spread the word using:  #DiaperGap

http://nationaldiaperbanknetwork.org/need-diapers-now/

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