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A child under 15 dies every 5 seconds around the world: UN
Why it is in news?
- An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017c or 1 every 5 seconds mostly of preventable causes according to the new mortality estimates released by UNICEF the World Health Organization (WHO)
- The report notes that for children everywhere, the most risky period of life is the first month.
- In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in their first month while 5.4 million deaths — occur in the first five years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths.
- Also, a baby born in sub-Saharan Africa or in South Asia was nine times more likely to die in the first month than a baby born in a high-income country.
- And progress towards saving newborns has been slower than for children under five years of age since 1990.
- Most children under 5 die due to preventable or treatable causes such as complications during birth, pneumonia, diarrhea, neonatal sepsis and malaria.
- 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.
- Within this age group, regional differences exist, with the risk of dying for a child from sub-Saharan Africa 15 times higher than in Europe.
- The report adds that even within countries, disparities persist.
- Under-five mortality rates among children in rural areas are, on average, 50% higher than among children in urban areas.
- In addition, 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.
Simple solutions
- Though the world has made remarkable progress to save children since 1990, but millions are still dying because of who they are and where they are born.
- With simple solutions like medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines, we can change that reality for every child,” the report said.
- Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under five years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30% in Southern Asia.
- Despite these challenges, fewer children are dying each year worldwide.
- The number of children dying under five has fallen dramatically from 12.6 million in 1990 to 5.4 million in 2017.
- The number of deaths in older children aged between 5 to 14 years dropped from 1.7 million to under a million in the same period.
Source
The Hindu