Over the past 25 years, organizations like the United Nations, Unicef and the World Health Organization have been working tirelessly to improve health conditions for children around the world.
Their efforts have not been in vain: between 1990 and 2015, the number of children dying before the age of five each year has dropped by 53%, from 12.7 million/year to just around 5.9 million/year today.
While that figure is definitely a major improvement, it still means that roughly 16,000 children die each day before reaching the age of five. The number also falls short of the two-thirds reduction target set by the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals back in 2000. The Guardian reports,
Around a third of all countries (62) have reduced child mortality in line with the MDG goal of two-thirds, and another 74 have cut it by a half. In spite of low incomes, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Uganda and Tanzania have all met the MDG target.
Child mortality is worst in sub-Saharan Africa, where one out of every 12 children dies before the age of five.
The UN’s eight Millennium Development Goals
A significant portion of child deaths (45%) happen within the first 28 days of life. Nearly half of these infants are malnourished, and most of them die from preventable causes, like infections, pneumonia and diarrhea. The UN plans to launch a new strategy to reduce child mortality at a general assembly meeting later this month.
“We know how to prevent unnecessary newborn mortality. Quality care around the time of childbirth including simple affordable steps like ensuring early skin-to-skin contact, exclusive breastfeeding and extra care for small and sick babies can save thousands of lives every year,”
said Dr. Flavia Bustreo, assistant director general at the World Health Organization, in an interview with The Guardian.
Dr. Tim Evans is the senior director of health, nutrition and population at the World Bank Group. He is currently involved in a program called Every Woman Every Child, which aims to address some of the major health challenges faced by mothers and children in the developing world.
Evans is definitely encouraged by the large drop in child mortality since 1990, but stresses that there is still work to be done:
“Many countries have made extraordinary progress in cutting their child mortality rates. However, we still have much to do before 2030 to ensure that all women and children have access to the care they need.”
Read more The Guardian and The World Bank.