Global Child Mortality Estimates for 2024
A series of five research papers published in The British Medical Journal estimates that 4.9 million children died globally before reaching the age of five in 2024. This includes 2.3 million neonatal deaths, which occur within the first 28 days of life. The findings highlight a troubling slowdown in the reduction of preventable deaths among children, adolescents, and newborns since 2015.
Regional Disparities in Mortality
The study reveals that mortality rates are highest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Researchers noted significant uncertainty in these estimates due to sparse and poor-quality data in these regions. The authors wrote, 'An estimated 4.9 million children died before age five in 2024, including 2.3 million (2.1 to 2.5 million) neonatal deaths. Mortality was highest in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where uncertainty intervals were widest due to data sparsity and quality.'
Leading Causes of Death
Pre-term birth complications and pneumonia were identified as the major causes of mortality among children under five. Among older children and adolescents aged 5 to 19 years, an estimated 1.3 million deaths occurred in 2024. Half of the deaths in the 5 to 14 age group were due to communicable diseases, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional causes. The rate of decline for these causes has slowed since 2016.
Progress Toward Sustainable Development Goals
The researchers reported that an estimated 134 countries have already achieved the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target for under-five mortality rate (U5MR), which aims to reduce the rate to 25 or fewer deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030. Based on current trends, six more countries are expected to meet the target by 2030. However, 60 countries—home to approximately 42% (274.2 million) of the global under-five population (645.8 million) in 2024—are projected to fall short of the goal.
Under-Recognized Causes of Death
The study also highlights that childhood cancer, road traffic injuries, and issues related to adolescent mothers are among the leading causes of mortality in the 5 to 19 age group that have not received adequate attention or prioritization for action. These causes require urgent global health interventions.
Call for Increased Investment
In a linked editorial, researchers from icddr,b in Bangladesh and the University of Health and Allied Sciences in Ghana emphasized the need for increased official development assistance to low- and middle-income countries to improve health and nutrition and reduce morbidity and mortality. They stated, 'Wealthy nations must invest more in official development assistance. Local philanthropy, especially now with the reduction in official development assistance, need to generously assist national governments and non-government organisations.' The editorial concludes with a moral imperative: 'We must muster all efforts to accelerate the rate of decline in mortality.'
