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Editorial
. 2014 Dec 6:11:82.
doi: 10.1186/1742-4755-11-82.

UNICEF Report: enormous progress in child survival but greater focus on newborns urgently needed

Tessa Wardlaw, Danzhen You  1 , Lucia Hug, Agbessi Amouzou, Holly Newby
Affiliations
Editorial

UNICEF Report: enormous progress in child survival but greater focus on newborns urgently needed

Tessa Wardlaw et al. Reprod Health. .

Abstract

The world has made enormous progress in improving child survival since 1990, reducing the under-five mortality rate by nearly half from 90 to 46 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2013. Currently, the global under-five mortality rate is falling faster than at any other time over the past two decades. Yet, progress is insufficient to meet the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) which calls for reducing the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. If current trends continue in all countries, the world will not meet the target until 2026, 11 years behind schedule. To accelerate progress in child survival, focusing on the newborn is critical since the share of all under-five deaths occurring in the neonatal period (the first 28 days of life) is increasing. Globally, 44 per cent of the 6.3 million under-five deaths occurred in the neonatal period in 2013. Many of these deaths are easily preventable with simple, cost-effective interventions administered before, during and immediately after birth. However, UNICEF's analysis reveals a remarkably high degree of variability in the utilization and quality of services provided to pregnant women and their babies. Furthermore, quality care is grossly lacking even for babies and mothers in contact with the health system. The latest levels and trends in child mortality as well as the coverage and quality of key maternal and newborn care from pregnancy through childbirth and the postnatal period are the subject of the new UNICEF report Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed Progress Report 2014 released recently in September.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The global under-five mortality rate fell by almost half. Global under-five, infant and neonatal mortality rates, 1990 and 2013. Source: UNICEF, Committing to child survival: A Promise Renewed progress report 2014. New York: UNICEF; 2014.
Figure 2
Figure 2
More than a third of neonatal deaths are caused by preterm birth complications and a quarter by intrapartum-related (labour and childbirth) complications. Global distribution of neonatal deaths, by cause, 2013. Source: UNICEF: Committing to child survival: A Promise Renewed progress report 2014. New York: UNICEF; 2014.
Figure 3
Figure 3
More than a third of all neonatal deaths occur on the day of birth. Number of deaths by day in the first 28 days of life, 2013. Source: UNICEF: Committing to child survival: A Promise Renewed progress report 2014. New York: UNICEF; 2014.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Progress in skilled birth attendance at delivery has accelerated since 2000 across all regions, but coverage is still inadequate. Percentage of births attended by skilled health personnel, by region, LDCs, and world, 1990, 2000, 2012. Notes: *Data for Latin America and the Caribbean refer to institutional deliveries. Estimates are based on a subset of 114 countries with available trend data for 1990–2012 covering 75% of births worldwide. Regional estimates represent data from countries covering at least 50% of regional births. Source: UNICEF: Committing to child survival: A Promise Renewed progress report 2014. New York: UNICEF; 2014.
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References

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