UN report More than 5.9 million children will die this year

Child mortality halved worldwide - Millennium goal still missed
Between 1990 and 2015, child mortality worldwide was to be reduced by two-thirds. That was one of the United Nations Millennium Goals (UN). It was not achieved. Nearly six million children will die this year. Thousands could be saved through "simple and affordable" medical interventions.

16,000 children die each day
According to the UN, worldwide infant mortality has more than halved since 1990. At that time, 12.7 million girls and boys died under the age of five, and this year it is estimated to be 5.9 million. The UN Millennium Goal, to reduce deaths by two-thirds by 2015, has not been achieved. Despite the 53 percent reduction, an average of 16,000 children a day would still die. That's 700 children every hour or eleven children per minute. Hope that 2015 will most likely be the first year in which the mortality falls to less than six million children.

New UN report continues to see high infant mortality. Image: RioPatuca Images - fotolia

One million babies die on the day of birth
"For all these girls and boys, life is over before it really starts," said Christian Schneider, CEO of UNICEF Germany in a press release. "Your early death could have been prevented in most cases by simple means that are taken for granted in Germany - for example, clean water, vaccinations and good care before, during and after birth." 45 percent of deaths are already happening in the first month of life. About one million babies die on the day of their birth. ("Https://www.heilpraxisnet.de/naturheilpraxis/eine-million-babys-sterben-am-tag-ihrer-geburt-901853397.php") This number has hardly changed in comparison to recent years.

Pneumonia as the leading cause of death
According to the report of the children's aid organization UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), most causes of death are preventable. While scientists reported last year that premature delivery is the leading cause of death for children, the latest report concludes that most babies and toddlers die from pneumonia (17 percent). This is followed by complications from preterm birth (16 percent), complications at birth (eleven percent), diarrhea (eight percent), blood poisoning (seven percent), and malaria (five percent). Malnutrition is responsible for the death of children in almost half of all cases.

Thousands of babies could be saved
The highest death rates are still recorded in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. As a result, UN experts are calling for more help for poor countries in these regions to improve their health care, especially in the care of pregnant women and obstetrics. According to news agency dpa, WHO Deputy Director Flavia Bustreo said, "We know how to further reduce mortality among newborns." "Simple and affordable" medical interventions can save the lives of thousands of babies. (Ad)