Child Mortality Rates: Progress Slows – 2024 Data

According to new estimates released today, around 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns. Yet most of these deaths could have been avoided with proven, affordable measures and better access to quality health care.

According to the report entitled Levels & Trends in Child Mortality (Child Mortality Rates and Trends), while the number of deaths of children under 5 has more than halved globally since 2000, progress has slowed by more than 60% since 2015.

This edition also presents a new level of detail: it brings together data covering all deaths of children, adolescents and young people, specifying where they occur, and includes for the first time complete estimates on the causes of these deaths*.

The analysis, which notably highlights the number of deaths directly attributable to severe acute malnutrition, reveals that more than 100,000 children aged 1 to 59 months – or 5% of this age group – died as a result of this pathology in 2024. These figures are, however, much higher if we take into account the indirect effects of malnutrition, since by weakening children’s immune systems, it considerably increases their risk of succumb to common childhood illnesses. It should also be noted that mortality data do not always identify severe acute malnutrition as the underlying cause of death, and newborns less than 1 month old are not included in these estimates, suggesting that the true burden of this condition is grossly underestimated. Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan are among the countries with the highest number of deaths directly linked to malnutrition.

Still according to the study, newborn deaths represent almost half of all deaths of children under 5 years old, a finding which reflects the slowdown in progress in preventing deaths occurring at the time of birth. The main causes of neonatal mortality remain complications linked to premature births (36%) and those occurring during labor and delivery (21%). Infections, including neonatal sepsis, as well as congenital anomalies, are also among the major causes of death.

Beyond the first month of life, infectious diseases, notably malaria, diarrhea and pneumonia, remain the main causes of mortality among young children. Malaria remains the first of these (it represents 17% of cases in this age group), with the majority of deaths occurring in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa. Although mortality linked to this disease fell sharply between 2000 and 2015, this decline has clearly slowed down in recent years. Deaths remain concentrated in a small number of countries, including Niger, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Chad – where malaria is endemic and where conflict, climate shocks, invasive mosquito species, drug resistance and other biological threats continue to hamper prevention and care efforts.

On a global scale, infant and child mortality is also marked by a strong geographic concentration. In 2024, sub-Saharan Africa alone would record 58% of deaths of children under 5 years old. In the same region, nine major infectious diseases accounted for 54% of these deaths, while in Europe and North America the proportion was only 9%, and in Australia and New Zealand it was 6%. These striking disparities highlight the scale of inequalities in access to proven and life-saving interventions.

In South Asia, a region that accounts for 25% of all deaths among children under 5 years of age, mortality was mainly due to complications occurring in the first month of life, including premature birth, birth asphyxia or trauma, congenital anomalies, and neonatal infections. The prevalence of these conditions, which are largely preventable, thus highlights the urgency of investing in quality prenatal care, in the increased presence of qualified health personnel during childbirth, in the care of low birth weight and sick newborns, as well as in essential neonatal services.

Fragile and conflict-affected countries continue to bear a disproportionate share of this burden, with children born in these contexts nearly three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than those born elsewhere.

The report further states that approximately 2.1 million children, adolescents and young people aged 5 to 24 died in 2024. While infectious diseases and injuries remain the leading causes of death among young children, risks shift during adolescence, with self-harm becoming the leading killer among girls aged 15 to 19, while road accidents dominate among boys of the same age.

At the same time, current changes in development sector financing – including a decline in international aid – are putting increasing pressure on essential maternal, newborn and child health programs. But surveys, health information systems and the essential functions that underpin effective care need sustainable funding, not only to preserve the progress made, but also to accelerate it.

Data shows that investments in child health continue to be among the most cost-effective development measures. Proven, low-cost interventions, such as vaccination, treatment of malnutrition and the presence of skilled health personnel during childbirth, even offer some of the best returns on investment in global health by helping to boost productivity, support economies and reduce future public spending. Thus, every US dollar invested in child survival can generate up to US$20 in social and economic benefits.

To accelerate progress and save lives, governments, donors and partners must therefore:

1. Make child survival a political and financial priority. Highly affected countries must commit to mobilizing domestic resources and improving access to quality, evidence-based and affordable services for all.
2. Focus efforts on groups most at risk, particularly on mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, as well as those living in conflict zones and fragile contexts.
3. Strengthen the principle of responsibility concerning commitments to reduce maternal, neonatal and child mortality, in particular regarding the collection, monitoring and reporting of transparent data.
4. Investing in primary health care in order to prevent, diagnose and treat the main causes of infant and child mortality, in particular through community health workers and skilled birth care.

Citations

“No child should die from diseases we know how to prevent. However, we are seeing worrying signs that progress on child survival is stalling, even as we see further global budget cuts,” said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of UNICEF. History has shown what can be accomplished when the world commits to protecting its children. With sustained investments and strong political will, we can consolidate these achievements for future generations. »

“The world has made remarkable progress in child survival, but many still die from preventable causes,” added Dr.^r Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization. Children living in conflict and crisis situations are almost three times more likely than others to die before their fifth birthday. We must preserve essential health and nutrition services and reach the most vulnerable families so that every child has the chance not only to survive, but to thrive. »

“These findings are a collective call to accelerate the implementation of proven, adaptable solutions that we know are within our reach,” continued Monique Vledder, World Bank Group Health Director. “The World Bank Group’s health goal of reaching 1.5 billion people reflects our concrete commitment to accelerate access to quality primary health services for more children and families. »

“The latest estimates from the United Nations Inter-Agency Panel for Child Mortality Estimation are a stark reminder that progress in child survival is slowing and that too many countries are not on track to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Li Junhua, UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs. “We know how to prevent these deaths. What is needed today is renewed political commitment, sustained investment in primary health care and stronger data systems to ensure that no child is left behind. »

“These estimates show that many deaths among children under 5 years of age – from causes such as prematurity, lower respiratory infections and injuries – could be prevented with proven, cost-effective interventions,” said Li Liu, PhD, associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and co-principal investigator of the CA-CODE project. “The science is clear: targeted investments in primary health care, maternal and newborn health services, routine immunization, nutrition programs, and reliable, up-to-date data systems can save millions of lives. »

Note to editors:

*These estimates were made possible by the United Nations Inter-Agency Panel on Child Mortality Estimation, which brought together global data on child mortality and causes of death in its flagship report, incorporating estimates from the Child and Adolescent Causes of Death Estimation (CA CODE) – a research consortium led by the Johns University Bloomberg School of Public Health Hopkins.

Although the number of child deaths continues to decline globally, updating data and improving the methods used have resulted in estimates slightly higher than those published last year. The series of estimates from the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation are therefore not directly comparable from one year to the next, with each update incorporating new data from surveys, censuses and civil registration, revised demographic data, as well as changes in geographic coverage.

You can view the report ici.