Almost 5 million children under 5 years old die each year worldwide

Geneva.- Some 4.9 million children died before the age of five in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, highlighted this Wednesday a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international agencies.

A 58% of these deaths are concentrated in Africa and another 25% in the Indian subcontinent, according to a study that underlines that this infant mortality has been reduced by more than half globally since the year 2000, although the rate of reduction has slowed down by more than 60% since 2015. "The world has made remarkable progress in saving children's lives, but many still die from preventable causes," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus upon the release of the report. The Ethiopian expert also recalled that children living in conflicts and crises are almost three times more likely to die before the age of five. The main causes of death in newborns were complications arising from premature births (36% of cases) and in normal births (21%), although infections also occupied an important place. Beyond the first month of life, malaria remained the leading cause of death (17%), although mainly in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa, with countries such as Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger and Nigeria among the most affected. The study also highlighted the more than 100,000 children under five years of age who died from severe acute malnutrition, although it warned that the lack of food could also have been an indirect cause of many other deaths, since malnutrition weakens children's immune systems and makes them more vulnerable to infections.

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On the other hand, approximately 2.1 million children, adolescents, and young people between 5 and 24 years old died in the analyzed year, 2024, with infectious diseases and injuries being the main causes among the youngest children in this age range. However, the study highlighted, the risks change in adolescence, where suicide is the main cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19, and traffic accidents among boys. Researchers concluded that it is necessary to increase investments in child health to reduce these millions of deaths, which are mostly preventable. This would include more proven and low-cost interventions such as vaccinations, treatment of malnutrition, and skilled care during childbirth.