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Vaccines and Global Health: The Week in Review has expanded its coverage of new reports, books, research and analysis published independent of the journal channel covered in Journal Watch below. Our interests span immunization and vaccines, as well as global public health, health governance, and associated themes. If you would like to suggest content to be included in this service, please contact David Curry at: david.r.curry@centerforvaccineethicsandpolicy.org
7,000 newborns die every day, despite steady decrease in under-five mortality, new report says
At current trends, 30 million newborns will die within first 28 days of life between 2017 and 2030
News release
19 October 2017 | NEW YORK/GENEVA/WASHINGTON DC – Every day in 2016, 15,000 children died before their fifth birthday, 46% of them – or 7 000 babies – died in the first 28 days of life, according to a new UN report.
Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2017, reveals that although the number of children dying before the age of five is at a new low– 5.6 million in 2016, compared with nearly 9.9 million in 2000 – the proportion of under-five deaths in the newborn period has increased from 41% to 46% during the same period.
“The lives of 50 million children under-five have been saved since 2000, a testament to the serious commitment by governments and development partners to tackle preventable child deaths,” said UNICEF Chief of Health, Stefan Swartling Peterson. “But unless we do more to stop babies from dying the day they are born, or days after their birth, this progress will remain incomplete. We have the knowledge and technologies that are required – we just need to take them where they are most needed.”
At current trends, 60 million children will die before their fifth birthday between 2017 and 2030, half of them newborns, according to the report released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the Population Division of UNDESA which make up the Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME)…
Levels & Trends in Child Mortality – Report 2017
Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation
PDF:
http://www.childmortality.org/files_v21/download/IGME%20report%202017%20child%20mortality%20final.pdf
CHILD SURVIVAL: KEY FACTS AND FIGURES
:: The world has made substantial progress in reducing child mortality in the past several decades. The total number of under-five deaths dropped to 5.6 (5.4, 6.0)1 million in 2016 from
12.6 (12.4, 12.8) million in 1990 – 15,000 every day compared with 35,000 in 1990.
:: Globally, the under-five mortality rate dropped to 41 (39, 44) deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016 from 93 (92, 95) in 1990 – a 56 (53, 58) per cent decline.
:: Globally, 2.6 (2.5, 2.8) million newborns died in 2016 – or 7,000 every day. Neonatal deaths
accounted for 46 per cent of all under-five deaths, increasing from 41 per cent in 2000.
:: The largest number of newborn deaths occurred in Southern Asia (39 per cent), followed by sub-Saharan Africa (38 per cent). Five countries accounted for half of all newborn deaths: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia.
:: The neonatal mortality rate fell by 49 per cent from 37 (36, 38) deaths per 1,000 live births in
1990 to 19 (18, 20) in 2016.
:: Children face the highest risk of dying in their first month of life, at a rate of 19 deaths per
1,000 live births. By comparison, the probability of dying after the first month but before reaching age 1 is 12 and after age 1 but before turning 5 is 11.
:: Progress is slower in reducing neonatal mortality rates than in reducing mortality rates in childrenaged 1–59 months. While neonatal mortality declined by 49 per cent, the mortality in children aged 1–59 months declined by 62 per cent from 1990 to 2016.
:: Disparities in child survival exist across regions and countries: in sub-Saharan Africa, approximately 1 child in 13 dies before his or her fifth birthday, while in the world’s high-income
countries the ratio is 1 in 189. Among newborns in sub-Saharan Africa, about 1 child in 36 dies inthe first month, while in the world’s high-income countries the ratio is 1 in 333.
:: Many lives can be saved if the gaps acrosscountries are closed. If all countries had reached
an under-five mortality rate at or below theaverage rate of high-income countries – 5.3 deaths per 1,000 live births – 87 percent of under-five deaths could have been averted, and almost 5 million children’s lives could have been saved in 2016.
:: If current trends continue with more than 50 countries falling short of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target on child survival,some 60 million children under age 5 will die
between 2017 and 2030 – and half of them will be newborns.
:: If every country achieves the SDG target on child survival by 2030, an additional 10 million lives of children under age 5 will be saved throughout the period 2017–2030 – about half of them will be newborns.
:: Most under-five deaths are caused by diseases that are readily preventable or treatable with
proven, cost-effective interventions. Infectious diseases and neonatal complications are
responsible for the vast majority of under-five deaths globally.
:: The probability of dying among children aged 5–14 was 7.5 (7.2, 8.3) deaths per 1,000 children aged 5 in 2016 – substantially lower than among younger children. Still 1 (0.9, 1.1) million children aged 5–14 died in 2016. This is equivalent to 3,000 children in this age group dying every day. Among children aged 5–14, communicable diseases are a less prominent cause of death than among younger children, while other causes including injuries and
non-communicable diseases become important.
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