1: Child Mortality: Significant Drop and Remaining Challenges

  • The recent report, "Levels and Trends in Child Mortality" by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, showed a considerable decline in under-five deaths worldwide. The figure has been reduced by over 50% since 2000 and he annual toll of global under-five deaths stood at 4.9 million in 2022.
  • Sustained efforts from a range of stakeholders led to the consistent decrease in child mortality. This included contributions from governments, healthcare professionals, organisations, local communities, and families.
  • Despite advancements, the report draws attention to the high death toll among children, adolescents, and youth, which remains unacceptably high.
  • The severity of the issue is highlighted by the startling statistic that between 2000 and 2022, 221 million children, adolescents, and youth lost their lives.

2: Persistent Inequalities in Child Survival

  • The report also notes that disparities in survival chances are influenced by geographical location, socio-economic status, and living situation.
  • Children in fragile or conflict-affected settings face graver threats to their survival.
  • Regional disparities are stark, with sub-Saharan Africa expected to bear most of the death toll by 2030 unless current trends change.

3: Failing to Meet Sustainable Development Goals

  • Most countries will not meet the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets on time. These goals aim to drastically reduce under-five mortality.
  • If the SDG-5 vision were realised, about 9 million more children could potentially reach the age of five.
  • However, under current trends, 59 countries will fail to meet the under-five mortality target set under the Sustainable Development Goals.

4: Potential Solutions to Curb Child Mortality

  • Recommendations include increasing access to family planning services, improving antenatal care services, and implementing effective screening programs to identify and manage risk factors associated with preterm births and stillbirths.
  • Improved data collection could ensure accurate record-keeping and effective implementation of targeted interventions.
  • Guidelines for maternal and perinatal deaths surveillance should be implemented effectively in order to identify trends and opportunities for intervention.

5: India’s Initiatives for Women Nutrition and Preventing Child Mortality

  • In alignment with the objectives of the report, India has implemented various programs to improve nutrition and reduce child mortality like the National Nutrition Mission (NNM) or POSHAN Abhiyaan.
  • Anaemia eradication programs like the Anaemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan have been introduced.
  • Under Mission Shakti, two sub-schemes, Sambal and Samarthya, aim to promote women's safety and empowerment.
  • The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme provides food, preschool education, primary healthcare, and other essential services to children under six years of age and their mothers.

This report serves as a much-needed reminder for the global community of the pressing need to address child mortality and the related socio-economic and geographical disparities that continue to pervade our societies.