Under-five Mortality in the World (1900-2015)

Khodaee, Gholam Hasan; Khademi, Gholamreza; Saeidi, Masumeh

doi:10.22038/ijp.2015.6078

Under-five Mortality in the World (1900-2015)

Authors

¹ Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

² Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

³ Students Research Committee, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

10.22038/ijp.2015.6078

Abstract

5.9 million children under age five died in 2015, 16 000 every day. Globally, under-five mortality rate has decreased by 53%, from an estimated rate of 91 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990 to 43 deaths per 1000 live births in 2015. The average annual rate of reduction in under-five mortality has accelerated from 1.8% a year over the period 1990–2000 to 3.9% for 2000–2015 , but remains insufficient to reach MDG- 4. About 19 000 fewer children died every day in 2015 than in 1990, the baseline year for measuring progress. The biggest challenge remains in the period at or around birth. A massive 45% of under-five deaths occur in the neonatal period – the first 28 days of life. Prematurity, pneumonia, complications during labour and delivery, diarrhoea, sepsis, and malaria are leading causes of death for children under 5 years old. Nearly half of all under-five deaths are associated with undernutrition.

Keywords