7.6 million children die each year before their fifth birthday
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
Senior officials from 80 countries and a coalition of health leaders have called for a concerted effort to save the lives of children dying before their fifth birthday from preventable diseases. An ambitious new program is said to help reduce child deaths from 7.6 million a year to one million within two decades.
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called on doctors and government officials around the world to redouble their efforts to combat child mortality, addressing them at a recent meeting in Washington.
“There will come a day when all children, no matter where they are born, will have a chance to survive,” the secretary of state said.
Most delegates know that the goal can be achieved with a combination of low-cost, effective drugs. Anthony Lake, director of UNICEF, says the main challenge is finding the political will to implement the project. Lake says one of the new challenges for UNICEF is to identify and focus most of its efforts on the five countries with the highest rates of child mortality from treatable diseases.
UNICEF Administrator Rajiv Shah notes that countries such as India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Dominican Republic and Ethiopia, where child mortality rates exceed 50 percent, are making serious statements about national strategy, resources and commitment, and international organizations are taking responsibility. “All this gives us confidence in the success of our plan,” Shah concluded.
Most children under five die from treatable and preventable diseases such as malaria and pneumonia. The head of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization says the success of the joint effort lies in ensuring access to modern medical methods and technologies in every corner of the world.
[