A new United Nations report released on Wednesday revealed that 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, with 2.3 million being newborns, reflecting slower progress in preventing deaths around the time of birth.
The report said most of these deaths are preventable with proven, low-cost interventions and quality healthcare.
“An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns, according to new estimates released today. Most of these deaths are preventable with proven, low-cost interventions and access to quality health care,” the report shared via World Health Organisation’s (WHO) website said.
According to the report, under-five deaths globally have fallen by more than 50 per cent since 2000, while progress has slowed by more than 60 per cent since 2015, with newborn deaths accounting for nearly 50 per cent of all under-five deaths.
The report also provided the clearest and most detailed picture yet of how many children, adolescents, and youth are dying, where they are dying, and fully integrated estimates on the causes of death.
“An estimated 2.1 million children, adolescents and youth aged 5–24 died in 2024. Infectious diseases and injuries remain leading causes among younger children, while risks shift in adolescence: self-harm is the leading cause of death among girls aged 15–19, and road traffic injuries among boys,” the report said.
For the first time, the report estimated deaths directly caused by severe acute malnutrition (SAM), finding that more than 100 000 children aged 1-59 months, or five per cent died from it in 2024. It added that the toll is far greater when indirect effects are considered, as malnutrition weakens children’s immunity and increases their risk of dying from common childhood diseases.
It further noted that mortality data frequently failed to capture SAM as an underlying cause of death, suggesting the burden is likely substantially underestimated. It also listed Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan as some of the countries with the highest numbers of direct deaths
The report stated that 36 per cent of complications from preterm birth, and 21 per cent of complications during labour and delivery, and Infections, including neonatal sepsis and congenital anomalies, are the leading causes of deaths among newborns.
It also pointed out that beyond the first month, infectious diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, and pneumonia are major killers, stressing that malaria remains the single largest killer in the age group, accounting for 17 per cent with most deaths occurring in endemic areas of sub-Saharan Africa.
According to the report, after steep declines between 2000 and 2015, progress towards reducing malaria mortality slowed in recent years, making deaths to remain concentrated in a handful of endemic countries such as Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Niger, and Nigeria, where conflict, climate shocks, invasive mosquitos, drug resistance, and other biological threats continue to affect access to prevention and treatment.
Infectious disease accounted for 54 per cent of all under-five deaths, with sub-Saharan Africa having 58 per cent of the deaths, while in Europe and North America, the proportion dropped by nine per cent, with South Asia accounting for 25 per cent of all under-five deaths.
WHO said evidence has shown that investments in child health remain among the most cost-effective development measures. It added that proven low-cost interventions such as vaccines, treatment for severe acute malnutrition, and skilled care at birth, deliver some of the highest returns in global health, improving productivity, strengthening economies and reducing future public spending.
It further stressed that every dollar invested in child survival can generate up to twenty dollars in social and economic benefits.
The global health body pointed out that for governments, donors and partners to accelerate progress and save lives, they must make child survival a political and financing priority, have a political commitment from high-burden countries to mobilise domestic resources, and improve access to evidence-based, quality services that are affordable for all.
It also stressed that they should focus on those at highest risk, especially mothers and children in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, and in conflict and fragile settings.
It further called for strengthened accountability on existing commitments to reduce maternal, newborn, and child deaths, including transparent data collection, tracking, and reporting; and invest in primary health care systems to prevent, diagnose and treat the leading causes of death in children, including through community health workers and skilled care at birth.