Reports by Save the Children and UNICEF this month explain that while children in the poorest households are harder to reach, they are typically the ones who benefit the most from aid and health services. According to Save the Children, “nearly four million child deaths over the past 10 years could have been prevented if states were able to help the poorest.”

Methods used by many developing countries to reduce child mortality tend to reach children from comparatively better off communities, leaving the children with the most disadvantaged backgrounds, (those who often have a harder time accessing health services) untouched. “According to Unicef, children from the poorest 20% of households in the developing world are more than twice as likely to die as children from the wealthiest 20%.”

Although the difficulties in reaching them are great, the benefits to reaching the most vulnerable children are high. Children suffering from diseases and other ailments benefit the most and child mortality figures can see a greater reduction. Both Unicef and Save the children indicated that countries which focus on the poorest can reduce child mortality dramatically.

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