The United Nations (UN) has said decades of progress in reducing child deaths and stillbirths was under threat, warns the United Nations.
This is according to two new reports by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) released on Tuesday.
The report revealed that the number of children dying globally before their fifth birthday declined to 4.8 million in 2023, while stillbirths declined modestly, still remaining around 1.9 million.
It noted that since 2000, child deaths dropped by more than half and stillbirths by over a third, fueled by sustained investments in child survival worldwide.
In 2022, the world reached a historic milestone when child deaths dropped slightly below 5 million for the first time. However, progress has slowed and too many children are still being lost to preventable causes.
UNICEF Executive Director, Catherine Russell maintained that the progress recorded were due to global commitment and a decline would not be allowed to happen.
“Millions of children are alive today because of the global commitment to proven interventions, such as vaccines, nutrition, and access to safe water and basic sanitation.
“Bringing preventable child deaths to a record low is a remarkable achievement. But without the right policy choices and adequate investment, we risk reversing these hard-earned gains, with millions more children dying from preventable causes. We cannot allow that to happen”, she said.
Decades of progress in child survival are now at risk as major donors have announced or indicated significant funding cuts to aid ahead. Reduced global funding for life-saving child survival programmes is causing healthcare worker shortages, clinic closures, vaccination programme disruptions, and a lack of essential supplies, such as malaria treatments.
These cuts are severely impacting regions in humanitarian crises, debt-stricken countries, and areas with already high child mortality rates. Global funding cuts could also undermine monitoring and tracking efforts, making it harder to reach the most vulnerable children, the Inter-agency Group warned.
On his part, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Ghebreyesus, harped on the need to step up collaboration to protect and improve children’s health:
“From tackling malaria to preventing stillbirths and ensuring evidence-based care for the tiniest babies, we can make a difference for millions of families.
“In the face of global funding cuts, there is a need more than ever to step up collaboration to protect and improve children’s health”, he said.
Similarly, World Bank Global Director for Health and Director of the Global Financing Facility, Juan Uribe noted, “most preventable child deaths occur in low-income countries, where essential services, vaccines, and treatments are often inaccessible”.
Therefore, “investing in children’s health ensures their survival, education, and future contributions to the workforce. With strategic investments and strong political will, we can continue to reduce child mortality, unlocking economic growth and employment opportunities that benefit the entire world”, he said.
