Although the infant mortality rate last year was as low as never before, experience is still millions of children to their fifth birthday, in 2017 worldwide have died of 5.4 million children under five years, as new estimates of the United Nations. For comparison: in 1990, the number stood at 12.6 million children.
Were added to the 2017 almost a Million deaths of girls and boys between five and 15 years. A total of 6.3 million children and adolescents under 15 years of age died. “This is an average of one death every five seconds,” said the children’s Fund, Unicef. Many of the deaths were by simple means such as medicines, clean water, electricity, and vaccinations avoidable.
The risk increases when mothers were in school
The survival chances of millions of children depend on it, in what country and under what circumstances you were born. Around half of all deaths in children under five years occur according to the Report, in Africa South of the Sahara, with a further 30 per cent in southern Asia. Children in rural regions are particularly threatened; as well as children whose mothers did not attend school.
Two-day-old child in Sri Lanka
The worst chances of Survival have statistically small children in Somalia, in Chad and the Central African Republic: Every eighth child is experiencing there, not even his fifth birthday. For comparison: In Germany, one of 250 children die, on average, under the age of five.
The most common causes of death include complications at birth, pneumonia, blood poisoning in the newborn, and Malaria. In most cases, these deaths could be prevented with relatively inexpensive measures: mosquito nets, good Hygiene, timely treatment, and well-equipped maternity wards. In the case of older children and adolescents increases the risk of accidents, especially traffic accidents and Drowning.
Target: by 2030, the Survival of newborns and young children
“We have since 1990, remarkable progress to save children,” said Laurence Chandy, Unicef Director for data, Research, and policy. “Without stronger measures half of, but between now and the year 2030, a further 56 million children under the age of five die of them newborns.”
The world community has set itself the goal to secure up to the year 2030, the Survival of newborns and young children worldwide. Although the reduction of child mortality according to the UN children’s Fund, Unicef continues to follow a positive Trend, progress is clearly too slow.
The United Nations children’s Fund, Unicef, published the report, together with the world health organization (WHO), the UN population division and the world Bank.