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Worldwide childhood deaths are on the decline

09.14.2012

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the rate of childhood mortality has fallen every year since 1990. These findings have been released in conjunction with UNICEF, the World Bank and the United Nations Population Division.

According to the WHO, about 5 million fewer children died from mostly treatable ailments such as pneumonia, premature birth, birth complications, malaria and diarrhea in 2011 than they did in 1990. Although some of these conditions could be cured by procedures available at a non-emergency facility such as an immediate care center or urgent care clinic, 80 percent of these deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia, in areas where medical services are not readily available. Almost 25 percent were Indian children, and just over 10 percent were from Nigeria.

“We welcome the widespread progress in child survival, but we want to stress that there is a lot of work that remains to be done. There is unfinished business and the fact is that today on average, some 19,000 children are still dying every day from largely preventable causes,” said Tessa Wardlaw, chief of monitoring and statistics for the U.N. Children's Fund, quoted by Voice of America.

The news source also spoke with Ties Boerma, chief of the World Health Organization health statistics and informatics. Boerma said that worldwide child death has steadily declined by 3 percent a year, however one out of every 152 children in developed countries still dies before they turn five years old.

The WHO advises that the number of surviving children could continue to increase if more mothers worldwide have access to proper healthcare, receive visits from physicians and members of their communities after giving birth, and are taught about health advantages of breastfeeding, according to Voice of America.

Categories: Health and Wellness