WHO Report: Progress on Reducing Child Deaths Has Stalled — What Must Change

How Many Children Still Die Before Age Five Each Year?

The latest child mortality estimates published by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) reveal a sobering reality: approximately 4.9 million children worldwide died before reaching age five in 2024. Of these, roughly 2.3 million were newborns who died within their first 28 days of life — the most vulnerable period in a child's existence.

While the world has made remarkable progress since 2000, when under-five mortality exceeded 10 million annually, the WHO warns that the rate of improvement has slowed in recent years. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia continue to bear the heaviest burden, accounting for the vast majority of child deaths. Many of these occur in settings with limited access to basic healthcare, clean water, and nutrition — factors that make otherwise treatable conditions lethal.

Why Has Progress in Reducing Child Mortality Slowed?

Several converging factors explain the deceleration. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted routine immunization programs, prenatal care, and essential health services in many low- and middle-income countries. According to WHO and UNICEF data, millions of children missed critical vaccinations between 2020 and 2023, leaving them vulnerable to diseases like measles, pneumonia, and diarrhea — all leading killers of young children.

Conflict, forced displacement, and climate-driven food insecurity have further eroded health systems in the most affected regions. Malnutrition, which contributes to nearly half of all under-five deaths according to UNICEF estimates, has worsened in areas facing drought, flooding, and economic instability. The WHO report underscores that without renewed political commitment and targeted investment, the Sustainable Development Goal of ending preventable child deaths by 2030 will not be met.

What Proven Interventions Can Prevent These Deaths?

The most striking aspect of the data is that most of these 4.9 million deaths are preventable with well-established, affordable health interventions. Pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, and neonatal complications — including preterm birth, birth asphyxia, and sepsis — remain the leading causes of death in children under five. For each of these, effective treatments and prevention strategies already exist.

Oral rehydration salts and zinc supplements can treat childhood diarrhea at minimal cost. Routine immunization prevents deaths from measles, rotavirus, and pneumococcal disease. Skilled birth attendance and basic neonatal care — including thermal protection, early breastfeeding initiation, and treatment of infections — can dramatically reduce newborn mortality. The WHO has repeatedly emphasized that scaling up these interventions in the hardest-hit regions could save millions of lives per decade, yet funding gaps and health workforce shortages persist as major barriers.