Progress:
- Fewer children are dying each year worldwide.
- The number of children dying under-5 has fallen dramatically from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2017.
- The number of deaths in children aged between 5 to 14 years dropped from 1.7 million to under a million in the same period.
Under-5 Mortality Estimates:
- Under 5 mortality in sub-Saharan Africa is 15 times higher than in Europe.
- Under-5 mortality rates among children in rural areas are 50% higher than among children in urban areas.
- Those born to uneducated mothers are more than twice as likely to die before turning five than those born to mothers with a secondary or higher education.
- Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30% in Southern Asia.
- Without urgent action, 56 million children under five will die from now until 2030. But with simple solutions like medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines, these deaths can be prevented.
Other Estimates:
- An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or 1 every 5 seconds, mostly of preventable causes.
- For children’s, the most risky period of life is the first month. In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month.
- Most children under 5 die due to preventable or treatable causes (such as birth complications, diarrhoea etc). By comparison, among children between 5 and 14 years of age, injuries become a more prominent cause of death, especially from drowning and road traffic.
