7 wins for global child health in 2013
Friday, December 20, 2013
In the battle against child mortality, the global health community gained some ground in 2013. Here are seven political and scientific developments that gave us reason to hope this year.
1. Millions of lives saved. UNICEF’s annual report on child mortality published in September brought encouraging news: child deaths havedeclined by nearly 50 percent since 1990. Most of the 6.6 million children who die before age 5 die of preventable causes, but the global health community is making headway against the deadliest diseases. Deaths from diarrhea, which is responsible for 9 percent of child fatalities, have declined by 50 percent. Pneumonia and malaria deaths have dropped by a third.
Still, the world isn’t on pace to meet the Millennium Development Goal set by the United Nations, which aims to decrease child mortality by two thirds by 2015.
Source: Global Post (link opens in a new window)
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