The United Nation’s children’s agency recently reported that an estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2022, which is a 51 percent decrease since 2000 and a 62 percent drop since 1990. However, despite the achievement, it warned that such progress is “precarious” and unequal.
According to the report, prepared by UNICEF in conjunction with the World Health Organization and the World Bank, progress was particularly notable in developing countries such as Malawi, Rwanda, and Mongolia, where early childhood mortality has fallen by more than 75 percent since 2000.
“Behind these numbers lie the stories of midwives and skilled health personnel helping mothers safely deliver their newborns… vaccinating… children against deadly diseases, and home visits to support families,” UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russel said.
However, “this is a precarious achievement,” the report warned. “Progress is at risk of stagnation or reversal unless efforts are taken to neutralize the numerous threats to newborn and child health and survival.”
Researchers pointed to already worrying signs, saying the reduction in under-five deaths has slowed at the global level and notably in the sub-Saharan Africa region.
In total, 162 million children under the age of five have died since 2000, 72 million of whom perished in the first month of life, as complications related to birth are among the main causes of early childhood mortality. Between the ages of one month and five years, respiratory infections, malaria, and diarrhea, which are all preventable, are the main killers, the report pointed out.
In order to reach the UN goal of reducing under-five deaths to 25 per 1,000 births by 2030, 59 countries will need urgent investment in children’s health, researchers warned. And without adequate funding, 64 countries will miss the goal of limiting first-month deaths to 12 per 1,000 births.
Reducing preventable deaths, especially to children under 5 years of age, should be a continuing goal that ideally ends when we get it as close to zero as possible. With so many threats to the life of a child, from the moment of birth until the age of five, governments and parents will need to be constantly on their toes. However, if the systems and preventive measures are already in place, achieving that goal will be much easier. Hopefully, for our children’s sake, the country’s healthcare system is constantly on the case.*
