Global child mortality falls to historic low

The 2023 report of the United Nations Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation shows a remarkable 51% fall in global mortality for children aged under 5 years between 2000 and 2022, from 76 deaths/1000 live births to 37/1000.1 This is a historic low: millions more children are surviving as low and middle income countries advance towards reducing under 5 mortality to ≤25 deaths/1000 live births by 2030, one of the targets set out in the UN sustainable development goal on good health and wellbeing.2

The fall is encouraging, but 4.9 million children under 5 years still died in 2022.1 Although 134 out of 200 countries achieved the under 5 mortality target, the rest, most in sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia, are still struggling. Prevention and treatment of leading causes of deaths in children under 5, including infectious diseases (pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria), prematurity, and birth asphyxia or trauma remain inadequate in many countries.1 Further, glaring inequity in child survival rates was observed across regions and countries.