Health
Unicef: Child mortality has declined significantly worldwide
An installation in New York organized by UNICEF illustrated the extent of child mortality in conflict zones in 2018. Photo
© Craig Ruttle/FR61802 AP/dpa
Despite all the advances in medical care, millions of children worldwide still die before their fifth birthday. According to Unicef, many lives could have been saved.
According to the UN Children’s Fund, survivors worldwide are surviving Unicef more children than ever before. Since 2000, the mortality rate for children under five has fallen by 51 percent, the organization announced on Wednesday in Cologne and New York. In 2022, the number of children who died before their fifth birthday from preventable causes reached an all-time low of an estimated 4.9 million children. In 1990 there were still 12.5 million children.
According to the data, most of these deaths in 2022 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. They are primarily due to preventable causes or treatable diseases such as premature births, complications during birth, pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria.
“Many lives could have been saved if the children had had better access to basic medical care,” Unicef said in a statement. This included measures such as vaccinations, qualified health personnel and the diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases.
“It is crucial to improve access to quality health care for every woman and child, including in crisis situations and in remote areas,” World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was quoted as saying in the statement. “Where a child is born should not determine whether it will live or die.”