Kerry tweets photo himself sledding at age 5 for AID effort to help kids reach 5 years old [View all]

Not many issues could create an alliance of Hillary Clinton, Rick Santorum, John Kerry, Colin Powell and Tom Coburn.

But a global health initiative to help children survive beyond their fifth birthday is a cause without a political party affiliation.

To celebrate a marked decline in deaths among young children over the past two decades, a coalition called “5th Birthday and Beyond” is holding several events this week in Washington. Among them is a concert at Merriweather Post Pavilion aimed at engaging millennials hosted by Global Citizen, a meeting with international health leaders at the Agency for International Development, and a reception honoring former and current leaders of the House and Senate appropriations subcommittees who designated funds for children’s health and survival.

Despite the “cut, don’t spend” mantra that has ruled Capitol Hill for the past four years, funding for global health has remained intact, and even increased.