UN: One Child Died Every Five Seconds

UN: One Child Died Every Five Seconds

The UN agency which deals with humanitarian assistance for children (Unicef) says one child dies every five seconds. Most of them die due to lack of water, sanitation, nutrition and basic health needs. In 2017, an estimated 6.3 million children died before the age of 15.

Most of these deaths, 5.4 million, occur within the first five years of a child's life. Newborns contribute about half of the deaths.

Unicef

"With simple solutions such as medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines this number of victims can be significantly reduced," said Laurence Chandy of Unicef. But without immediate action, 56 million children under five, half of them newborns, will die between this year and 2030.

Globally, in 2017, half of the deaths of children under five are in sub-Saharan Africa, where one in 13 children dies before the age of five. According to a report compiled jointly by Unicef, the World Health Organization and the World Bank in high-income countries, child mortality is one of 185 children.

It was found that most children under five died of causes that could be prevented or treated such as complications during birth, pneumonia, diarrhea, neonatal sepsis, and malaria. For children aged five to 14 years, accidents are often the main cause of death. This is mainly from sinking and traffic accidents.

For children, the most difficult time is the first month of life. In 2017, 2.5 million newborns died in the first month. Babies born in sub-Saharan Africa or in South Asia are nine times more likely to die in the first month than those born in high-income countries.

Regardless of the problem, the UN report found that the number of children who die each year throughout the world has decreased. The number of under-five deaths decreased to 5.4 million in 2017 from 12.6 million in 1990. While the number of deaths between the ages of five and 14 dropped to below one million from 1.7 million in the same period.

Source: republika