Putting an end to avoidable infant and child deaths

A new United Nations report has warned that progress in ending preventable newborn and child deaths is slowing worldwide. According to estimates released by the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF, around 4.9 million children under the age of five died in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns who died within their first month of life. Most of these deaths were caused by preventable and treatable conditions such as premature birth complications, infections, pneumonia, malaria, diarrhoea, and malnutrition.The report highlights that while global under-five mortality has fallen by more than half since 2000, the pace of improvement has slowed by over 60% since 2015.

Newborn deaths now account for nearly half of all child deaths, with complications during pregnancy, childbirth, and the neonatal period remaining major challenges, especially in low-income countries.Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia continue to bear the highest burden of child mortality. The UN agencies noted that children born in conflict-affected and fragile regions are almost three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than those born elsewhere. Funding cuts to health and nutrition programmes are also threatening decades of progress in child survival.