How many children die, where, and from what causes?

In 1990, around 12.7 million children died before reaching their 5th birthday. Millennium Development Goal (MDG) 4 aimed to reduce this by two-thirds by the end of 2015. In this step, Professor Joy Lawn discusses the progress that has been made.

We now know that mortality for under-fives has halved, from an average of approximately 90 deaths per 1000 live births to 46 against an MDG target of about 30. Progress has been much slower for neonatal mortality, with around 20 babies per 1000 live births dying in their first month of life. Looking ahead, the renewed targets for 2030 are to reduce under-five mortality to 22 or less, and neonatal mortality to 12 or less.

Under-five mortality is highly concentrated in Africa, and will become more so by 2030. It is estimated that by 2030, one out of three births will be in Africa along with 60% of child deaths.