The Lancet just released child mortality data for 2008. As the report states, "up-to-date information on the causes of child deaths is crucial to guide global efforts to improve child survival." The report is based on availability of more recent data and improved methods that enabled updated estimates of cause-specific child mortality and is expected to be updated yearly.
Here are some key points:
• Child mortality has been declining worldwide as a result of socioeconomic development and implementation of child survival interventions, yet 8.8 million children die every year before their fifth birthday. However, an acceleration of the decline in mortality is possible with expansion of interventions targeting the important causes of death. (p. 1969/1)*
• Despite a continuing increase in the population of children younger than 5 years, the mortality rate is declining: 8.795 million deaths occurred in 2008 versus 10.6 million per year during 2000–03. With greater declines in mortality in children aged 1–59 months than in neonates (0-27 days), the proportion of deaths in neonates has increased from 37% in 2000–03, to 41% (3.575 million) of 8.795 million deaths in children younger than 5 years in 2008 (p. 1985/17).
• Table 1 and Figure 4 (both on page 1973/5) are great overviews of Global causes of child deaths.
• Of the estimated 8.795 million deaths in children younger than 5 years worldwide in 2008, infectious diseases caused 68% (5.970 million), with the largest percentages due to pneumonia (18%, 1.575 million), diarrhea (15%, 1.336 million,) and malaria (8%, 0.732 million).
• 41% (3.575 million) of deaths occurred in neonates(0-27 days), and the most important single causes were preterm birth complications (12%, 1.033 million), birth asphyxia (9%, 0.814 million), sepsis (6%, 0.521 million), and pneumonia (4%, 0.386 million).
• 49% (4.294 million) of child deaths occurred in five countries: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Pakistan, and China. The largest numbers of deaths were in the African region (4.199 million) and in the southeast Asian region (2.390 million) (p. 1984/16).
• The concentration of all-cause child deaths and deaths due to some specific causes, such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, malaria, and AIDS, in a small set of countries is striking. This result is partly related to the large populations of children younger than 5 years in these countries, but also some diseases are concentrated because of epidemiological and social conditions (p. 1985/17).
• Undernutrition, including stunting, severe wasting, deficiencies of vitamin A and zinc, and sub-optimum breastfeeding, is not presented as a direct cause of death in these statistics, but has been found to be an underlying cause in a third of deaths in children younger than 5 years (p. 1985/17).
• Successful implementation of interventions to prevent the development of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies and to treat severe acute malnutrition would substantially reduce child mortality and improve the health and development of surviving children (p. 1985/17).
* page number full Lancet publication, Volume 375/page number from excerpt
Read the Lancet article here>>
Ada Laurén