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'''Child mortality''', also known as '''under-5 mortality''', refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2013, 6.3 million children under five died <ref name="UN Child Mortality Report 2014">[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Levels_and_Trends_in_Child_Mortality_2014.pdf Levels & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2014]</ref> down from 6.6 million the year before <ref name="UN Child Mortality Report 2013">[http://reliefweb.int/report/world/levels-trends-child-mortality-report-2013 Levels & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2013 Relief Web Article], 7.6 million in 2010,<ref name="UNICEF press release Sept. 2011">[http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/us-child-mortality-rate-idUSTRE78E42820110915 UNICEF press release Sept. 2011]</ref> and 12.4 million in 1990.<ref name="UNICEF press release Sept. 17, 2010"/> About half of child deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="UN Child Mortality Report 2012"/> Reduction of child mortality is the fourth of the [[United Nations]]' [[Millennium Development Goals]].
'''Child mortality''', also known as '''under-5 mortality''', refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2013, 6.3 million children under five died <ref name="UN Child Mortality Report 2014">[http://www.unicef.org/media/files/Levels_and_Trends_in_Child_Mortality_2014.pdf Levels & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2014]</ref> down from 6.6 million the year before <ref name="UN Child Mortality Report 2013">[http://reliefweb.int/report/world/levels-trends-child-mortality-report-2013 Levels & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2013 Relief Web Article]</ref>, 7.6 million in 2010,<ref name="UNICEF press release Sept. 2011">[http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/09/15/us-child-mortality-rate-idUSTRE78E42820110915 UNICEF press release Sept. 2011]</ref> and 12.4 million in 1990.<ref name="UNICEF press release Sept. 17, 2010"/> About half of child deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.<ref name="UN Child Mortality Report 2012"/> Reduction of child mortality is the fourth of the [[United Nations]]' [[Millennium Development Goals]].


Child Mortality Rate is the highest in low-income countries, such as most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. A child's death is emotionally and physically damaging for the mourning parents. Many deaths in the third world go unnoticed since many poor families cannot afford to register their babies in the government registry.<ref>Child Mortality</ref>
Child Mortality Rate is the highest in low-income countries, such as most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. A child's death is emotionally and physically damaging for the mourning parents. Many deaths in the third world go unnoticed since many poor families cannot afford to register their babies in the government registry.<ref>Child Mortality</ref>

Revision as of 02:25, 1 October 2014

Child mortality, also known as under-5 mortality, refers to the death of infants and children under the age of five. In 2013, 6.3 million children under five died [1] down from 6.6 million the year before [2], 7.6 million in 2010,[3] and 12.4 million in 1990.[4] About half of child deaths occur in Sub-Saharan Africa.[5] Reduction of child mortality is the fourth of the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals.

Child Mortality Rate is the highest in low-income countries, such as most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. A child's death is emotionally and physically damaging for the mourning parents. Many deaths in the third world go unnoticed since many poor families cannot afford to register their babies in the government registry.[6]

Causes

According to UNICEF,[7] most child deaths (and 70% in developing countries)[8] result from one or more of the following five causes:

Prevention

Main article: Child survival

Two-thirds of child deaths are preventable.[9] Most of the children who die each year could be saved by low-tech, evidence-based, cost-effective measures such as vaccines, antibiotics, micronutrient supplementation, insecticide-treated bed nets, improved family care and breastfeeding practices ,[10] and oral rehydration therapy.[11] Empowering women, removing financial and social barriers to accessing basic services, developing innovations that make the supply of critical services more available to the poor and increasing local accountability of health systems are policy interventions that have allowed health systems to improve equity and reduce mortality.[5]

Rate

The under-5 mortality rate is the number of children who die by the age of five, per thousand live births per year. In 2011, the world average was 51 (5.1%), down from 87 (8.7%) in 1990. The average was 7 in developed countries and 57 developing countries, including 109 in sub-saharan Africa.[5] Likewise, there are disparities between wealthy and poor households in developing countries. According to a Save the Children paper, children from the poorest households in India are three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than those from the richest households.[12] However, there are also limitations in calculating an accurate rate in developing countries, especially in rural areas. An ethnographic study in Pacatuba, Brazil, found that the under-5 mortality rate only accounted for 44.4% of the actual deaths that occurred in the community. High travel costs, lost labor, and a withdrawal of socio-economic benefits are factors as to why deaths may not be reported to government vital statistics agencies within a country.[13]

Highest rates in the world

In 2009, there were 31 countries reported in which at least 10% of children under five died. To the exception of Afghanistan, the list was comprised entirely of African countries  :[14]

  1. Chad - 20.9%
  2. Afghanistan - 19.9%
  3. Democratic Republic of the Congo - 19.9%
  4. Guinea-Bissau - 19.3%
  5. Sierra Leone - 19.2%
  6. Mali - 19.1%
  7. Somalia - 18.0%
  8. Central African Republic - 17.1%
  9. Burkina Faso - 16.6%
  10. Burundi - 16.6%

See also

References

  1. ^ Levels & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2014
  2. ^ Levels & Trends in Child Mortality Report 2013 Relief Web Article
  3. ^ UNICEF press release Sept. 2011
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference UNICEF press release Sept. 17, 2010 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference UN Child Mortality Report 2012 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Child Mortality
  7. ^ UNICEF - Health - the big picture
  8. ^ UNICEF - Health
  9. ^ UNICEF - Young child survival and development.
  10. ^ UNICEF MDG Goal 4
  11. ^ New formula for oral rehydration salts will save millions of lives
  12. ^ Inequalities in child survival: looking at wealth and other socio-economic disparities in developing countries
  13. ^ Nations, Marilyn K., and Mara Lucia Amaral. 1991. Flesh, Blood, Souls, and Households: Cultural Validity in Mortality Inquiry. Medical Anthropology Quarterly 5 (3):204-220.
  14. ^ [1]
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