Seven million children and young people died in 2021 – equivalent to one every 4.4 seconds, according to the latest estimates released by the United Nations.

Five million of those died before their fifth birthday, while a further 1.9 million babies were stillborn.

The UN said most of these deaths could have been prevented with access to better maternal and child healthcare, such as vaccination and nutritional supplementation programmes.

“Such widespread, preventable tragedy should never be accepted as inevitable,” said Vidhya Ganesh, UNICEF Director of the Division of Data Analytics, Planning and Monitoring.

“Progress is possible with stronger political will and targeted investment in equitable access to primary health care for every woman and child.”

Premature birth and birth complications, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria remain the leading causes of preventable deaths of children under five years.

While the data also showed some positive outcomes – the global under-five mortality rate has fallen by 50 per cent since the start of the century, and the stillbirth rate decreased by 35 per cent – such gains are said to have been slowing since 2010.

Dr Kathleen Strong, an epidemiologist in child health at the World Health Organization (WHO), said that while there has been “no single case” for the slow-down in survival gains from 2010 to 2021, improving access to primary healthcare facilities would help the world get back on track.

“Many countries have suffered from disruptions to health services during the Covid-19 pandemic,” she added.

While Covid-19 has not directly increased childhood mortality – with children facing a lower likelihood of dying from the disease than adults – the pandemic has increased future risks to their survival.

In particular, disruption to vaccination campaigns, nutrition services, and primary health care access are expected to jeopardise health for many years to come. 

The pandemic fuelled the largest continued backslide in vaccinations in three decades, putting the most vulnerable newborns and children at greater risk of dying from preventable diseases.

The percentage of children who received three doses of the vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis – a marker for immunisation coverage across countries – fell five percentage points between 2019 and 2021 to 81 per cent.

Children born in sub-Saharan Africa continue to face the steepest odds of survival in the world – childhood deaths are 15 times higher than in Europe and Northern America.

Mothers in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia also endure the loss of babies to stillbirth at an exceptional rate, with 77 per cent of all stillbirths in 2021 occurring in the two regions.

“It is grossly unjust that a child’s chances of survival can be shaped just by their place of birth, and that there are such vast inequities in their access to lifesaving health services,” said Dr Anshu Banerjee, Director for Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Ageing at the WHO.

The report highlighted that children living in fragile and conflict-affected situations are especially vulnerable. 

The under-five mortality rate in the 37 countries classified as fragile and conflict-affected situations was 75 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2021, a three-fold increase in risk compared to all other countries. 

If quick action is not taken to improve health services, almost 59 million children and youth will die before 2030, and nearly 16 million babies will be lost to stillbirth, the UN warned.

Source: The Telegraph