The United Nations announced that the number of child fatalities worldwide has dropped to its lowest historical level in 2022, with 4.9 million children dying before reaching the age of five.
In a report prepared by the inter-agency group for child mortality estimation and distributed in Geneva on Wednesday, it was added that the number of children living today is higher than ever, with the global under-five mortality rate decreasing by 51% since the year 2000. This significant reduction was surpassed by many low and middle-income countries, indicating that progress is possible when adequate resources are allocated to primary healthcare, including child health.
Despite this progress, the report notes, the journey is still long to end all preventable child and youth fatalities. In addition to the 4.9 million children who lost their lives before the age of five—nearly half of them neonates—another 2.1 million children and youths aged between 5 and 24 years also died, with most of these deaths occurring in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
The report attributes these life losses primarily to preventable or treatable causes such as preterm birth, complications around the time of birth, pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria. It confirms that child mortality in the most vulnerable countries can significantly decrease if community interventions for child survival can reach those in need and are provided close to their homes.
However, at current rates, 59 countries will not achieve the Sustainable Development Goal related to under-five mortality, and 64 countries will fail to meet the neonatal mortality goal. This implies that an estimated 35 million children will die before their fifth birthday by 2030, with the majority of these deaths borne by families in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, or in low and middle-income countries.
A separate UN report indicated that in addition to the 5 million children dying before their fifth birthday, 1.9 million babies were stillborn in 2021, with many of these deaths being preventable with better access to maternal and child healthcare. The under-5 mortality rate has halved since the start of the century, but progress has slowed since 2010, and many countries are at risk of not meeting their Sustainable Development Goals for reducing child mortality. This underscores the importance of equitable access to healthcare to ensure every child, regardless of their birthplace, has a chance for a healthy life.
