UN Millenium Development Goals

Purpose:

• The purpose of Goal 4 is to reduce the number of deaths of children under the age of five (U5MR). There is one target associated with this goal.

Target 1: Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five mortality rate.

Reasons why Goal 4 is important:

• The vast majority of deaths of children under the age of five are due to causes that could be prevented or treated by inexpensive means. Some of the most deadly causes of disease, such as measles, can be vaccinated against.

• More than 10 million children under the age of five die annually and more than 20 million children under the age of five are severely malnourished (WHO, 2009).

•  As children represent the future, it is the responsibility of the global community, including governments, to promote their health and reduce the child mortality rate.

Target 1:Reduce by two-thirds, between 1990 and 2015, the under-five motality rate

• Child mortality in developing countries is measured by U5MR.

• Children who reach their fifth birthday have a much greater chance of surviving into adulthood when compared with children under the age of five.

• Children born in developing countries have a 13 times greater risk of dying within the first five years than children in developed countries.

• Approximately 50 per cent of the U5MR in the developing world occurs in sub-Saharan Africa. Many of these deaths are due to preventable causes such as malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, measles and pneumonia.  .

• Thirty-seven per cent of deaths of children under the age of five occur in the first month of life. Many of these deaths could be prevented if neonatal and maternal health care were available.

Areas where progress has not occurred or has been slow

Despite the achievements that have been made in reducing the U5MR, many countries still have high levels of child mortality and have made little or no progress. The following is of particular concern:                                                         

•  In 2010, of the 67 countries with high child mortality, only 10 were on track to meet the target of reducing U5MR by two-thirds by 2015. In sub-Saharan Africa, which has the highest child mortality rate, one in seven children die before their fifth birthday (see figure below). Of the 34 countries with U5MR exceeding 100 per 1000 live births in 2008, 33 were in sub-Saharan Africa.       

• Due to the high levels of fertility and the large percentage of under-five deaths, the absolute number of children who have died in sub-Saharan Africa has increased from 4 million in 1990 to 4.4 million in 2008.                                

• In southern Asia, one in 14 children died before the age of five in 2008. Progress in this region is too slow to meet the 2015 target.                                       

• Children, who live in poor households, live in rural areas or whose parents have low levels of education are less likely to be vaccinated against measles. Children with many older siblings are also less likely to be vaccinated against measles.                                                                                    

•  As a result of a reduction in funding for measles control, many countries are experiencing funding gaps for their immunisation campaigns. As a result, it is projected that mortality may begin to increase, resulting in 1.7 million measles-related deaths between 2010 and 2013.