Table 1.

SUM

Year
1987
1988 38,895,401
1989 38,356,327
1990 37,809,454
1991 37,086,361
1992 36,303,634
1993 35,493,719
1994 34,749,532
1995 33,860,077
1996 32,972,739
1997 32,159,523
1998 31,337,997
1999 30,433,385
2000 29,528,370
2001 28,612,590
2002 27,689,370
2003 26,779,194
2004 25,985,246
2005 25,012,210
2006 24,168,783
2007 23,340,656
2008 22,591,212
2009 21,726,836
2010 21,079,264
2011 20,210,302
2012 19,493,892
2013 18,828,614
2014 18,219,273

2015 17,649,678
2016 17,139,879
2017 16,663,633
Table 2. AVERAGE

Year
1987
1988 72,029
1989 68,250
1990 64,632
1991 63,395
1992 62,057
1993 60,673
1994 59,401
1995 57,880
1996 56,364
1997 54,974
1998 53,569
1999 52,023
2000 50,476
2001 48,910
2002 47,332
2003 45,776
2004 44,419
2005 42,756
2006 41,314
2007 39,899
2008 38,617
2009 37,140
2010 36,033
2011 34,548
2012 33,323
2013 32,186
 2014 31,144

2015 30,170
2016 29,299
2017 28,485

The world has halved the mortality rate among children aged 5–14 since 1990. From 1990 to 2017, the
mortality rate among older children and young adolescents declined by 52 per cent and the number of
deaths dropped by 45 per cent from 1.7 million in 1990 to 0.9 million in 2017. Most of the regions
reduced the probability of dying among children aged 5–14 by at least half from 1990 to 2017, however,
unlike under-five mortality, progress in reducing mortality in this age group was not significantly
accelerated after the year 2000. Globally, the average annual rate of reduction was 2.7 per cent from
1990-2000 and 2.8 per cent from 2000 to 2017.
 Ateneo de Iloilo – Santa Maria Catholic School
Pison Avenue St., Brgy. San Rafael, Mandurriao, Iloilo City
HIGH SCHOOL DEPARTMENT
Senior High School

A Performance Task entitled

“BLUE WEB PROJECT: A Social Advocacy Promotion
Upholding the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goal”

In Partial Fulfilment
Of the Requirements on the Course
CORE 1 – ORAL COMMUNICATION IN CONTEXT

Submitted to:
Jessa T. Baylon

Submitted by:
Ricco Victor F. Ruto
11 – La Stora

October 2018
Informative Speech

“The Blinded Truth”

Attention Getter
Salutation
Child mortality is a core indicator for child health and well-being. Child survival remains
an urgent concern. It is unacceptable that about 16,000 children still die every single day –
equivalent to 11 deaths occurring every minute. These numbers are still unacceptably high. A
concerted effort is needed to further accelerate the pace of progress, and countries and the
international community must invest further to end preventable child deaths. (Thesis Statement).

The generations that bore the brunt of the mortality were those born between 1987 and
1989, who would have been between 30 to 31 years of age. Over 40 million children died in 152
countries that represents the poorest and the most marginalized communities in the world. They
have typically received little attention except for humanitarian relief, which may have exacerbated
their poverty and reduced their options for independent living. In addition, malaria, acute
respiratory infection (ARI), diarrheal diseases, and skin infections were the leading causes of
morbidity from 1998 - 1989. They made up 50-70% of all clinic visits among children aged less
than 5 years (under-fives). Infant mortality decreased from 114.6/1000 to 40.8/1000 live births
during the study period. Under-five mortality fell from 155.6/1000 to 61.2/1000 live births.

Despite these challenges occur in 1987 - 1988, the world made substantial progress and
has halved the mortality rate among children aged 5–16 since 1990. From 1990 to 2015, the
mortality rate in older children declined by 51 per cent and the number of deaths dropped by 44
per cent from 1.7 million to 1 million. Most of the regions reduced the probability of dying among
children aged 5–14 by at least half. In addition, child mortality rates have plummeted to less than
half of what they were in 1990, according to a new report released today. Under-five deaths have
dropped from 12.7 million per year in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015. For the reason of progress,
more effective primary care-based prevention and early detection interventions combined with
disease management started in 2000s in order to avoid further progression, ensure access to
treatment and disease control, and ensure post-treatment follow-up to prevent recurrence.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), otherwise known as the Global Goals, are a
universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace
and prosperity. One of these goals is to target and minimize the child morality around the world.
But despite the commencement of Sustainable Development Goals introduced by the United
Nations General Assembly in 2015 and along the progress over the past two decades, in 2017
alone, an estimated 6.3 million children and young adolescents died, mostly from preventable
causes. A reasonable approach for these is the burden of child deaths is heaviest in sub-Saharan
Africa. The burden of child deaths varies geographically, with most deaths taking place in just
two regions. In 2017, half of the deaths among children under age 5 occurred in sub-Saharan
Africa, and another 30 per cent occurred in Southern Asia. Moreover, eighty-five per cent (5.4
million) of the 6.3 million deaths in 2017 occurred in the first five years of life and about half (47
per cent) of the under-five deaths in 2017 occurred in the first month of life. Across all regions
and income groups, more than 80 per cent of the deaths under age 15 happened in the first five
years of life regardless of the mortality level.

However, progress should not end with achieving the SDG targets at country levels.
Millions more children’s lives could be saved if every country achieved the lowest mortality rate
in their respective region. Overall reductions in child mortality of the magnitude envisaged in the
SDGs will require designing and implementing policies to address inequalities in the health
environment and living conditions of children, especially those belonging to the most
disadvantaged population groups. To maximize the effectiveness of such policies, it is important
to understand the causes of existing inequalities in child health and survival, identifying critical
factors of success for the policies applied to date and devising better strategies for reducing
inequalities in the future.

References:

Persuasive Speech
 “Making the Invisible Visible”
Attention Getter
Salutation
This generation of young people is one of the most progressive and diverse in history.
They live in a globalized world and experience social, economic, and health issues as related and
interconnected. This at a time when many decision makers—leaders of organizations and
government agencies—as well as much of the adult public, remain mired in the policies and
practices of the past, often working in silos and failing to understand the diversity of
circumstances and the intersectionality with which this generation views itself and its world. Whilst
some regions enjoy sustained levels of peace, others fall into seemingly endless cycles of conflict
and violence. This is by no means inevitable and must be addressed the root causes that fuel
violence and conflicts with children living and working on the streets, the rights of indigenous
children and universal birth registration that affects children around the world.

Personally, I understand street children to those who sleep on the street at most times
and retain limited or no contact with their family of origin. Some are saying that these children
lived on the streets without any parental support are a fraction of the total population of street-
involved children. But we are both wrong, these terms and definitions, however, failed to capture
accurately the heterogeneous yet unique characteristics of street children. Living on the streets
seems to provide these children an escape from the social problems that stem from poverty in
their daily lives. Paradoxically, many of the issues faced at home are replicated and magnified on
the streets. Thus, the street becomes the ‘home’ where private activities are conducted in public
space, but does not free the child from stresses and strains of living. According to The United
Nations International Children’s Emergency Relief Fund (UNICEF) has estimated there are about
100 million street children worldwide, most countries appear to have more street boys than girls.
However, street girls may be less visible, but they are clearly an understudied reality. The
understudied reality is that their exposure to violence and sexual abuse by peers and adults,
result to them being more likely to be engaged in illegal activities such as prostitution, selling
drugs, petty theft. Moreover, in expressing their feelings, they said, inter alia: “I would like for
people who have never lived on the streets to see us as persons with pride, like normal people”;
Governments should work with the community to give us rights. We’re not asking for charity. I
want to become someone to fend for myself”; “People should give us a chance to use our gifts
and talents to achieve our dreams”; “Give us the opportunity to change our story.” These are an
alarming signals the dire need for social development and poverty reduction policies to improve
the situation in the community at large, and to prevent more young people from becoming
marginalized. They need our hope that these stories and experiences will foster the sharing of
insights that it will substantially contribute to making the world aware of the painful situation of
street and working children and, concomitantly, more willing and able to protect and rescue these
children at risk.

Second, the Earth lies at the center of their cosmologies, and connects them with their
past, as home of their ancestors, their present, as provider of their material needs, and their
future, as a legacy that they hold in trust for their children. And these are indigenous children.
Indeed, the global distribution of indigenous children demonstrates a marked correlation with
areas of high biological diversity. However, these unique individuals are now in the context of
widespread discrimination in their places of origin that faces a distinct experience of migration
where their own agency is severely curtailed – one often characterized by further discrimination
as entrenched patterns of exclusion are replicated elsewhere. The culture, customs, territories
and ways of life of the indigenous peoples of the continent have been subjugated, have been
considered historical roots and unique forms and I believe that this is a form of cultural, physical
and symbolic violence against the children of the indigenous peoples. In the same vein, there are
practices to keep, practices to change and practices to reconsider. While indigenous peoples
continue to value and perpetuate their culture and way of life, we should not be exempt from this
type of reflection. We must trigger change and catalyze actions so that indigenous communities
can play their role in guaranteeing a life free from violence and discrimination for indigenous
children. Lastly, let’s imagine yourselves, what life would be like if you could not use your
name on forms, or prove your age, imagine how one would go through life without an identity.
And worse, imagine that according to the law, you did not exist. This is the situation globally,
unregistered children spread across the corners of the world. At first glance, a birth certificate
looks like any other bureaucratic form – but it is actually a vital, powerful document that gives
children proof of identity. It is the first right of all children and having a birth certificate can be
necessary for children to exercise other rights, including education, healthcare and other social
services and protect from exploitation and abuse. But the failure to register exacerbates their
poverty and marginalization. Failure to obtain universal birth registration may contribute to
harmful realities for all children of a community and if the birth registration is not in itself a
guarantee of education, health, protection and participation, its absence can place these
fundamental rights beyond the reach of those who are already on the margins of society.
Universal birth registration is impossible to ignore and entirely possible to achieve. It is true that
birth registration is not the solution to the myriad of problems facing children, but it is an
important first step towards promoting child rights and the hope of a better life.

Youth have the right to be active partners in developing, shaping, and implementing
programs and policies that impact their health and lives. We have a duty to the world’s people,
especially the vulnerable and to the youth to whom the future belongs. Yes, thousands of voices
speaking may independently be ignored or dismissed. But by working together to deliver a
message, we can make a real difference. Remember, one person can act upon violence but many
people can work to stop violence. There is power in numbers and the power of many voices with
one message can spur actions at all levels to make a real difference and to reach peace.

The year 2030 will be a key milestone for humanity and the future. The new agenda to
be adopted last September 2015 serves as our chance to set the world on a sustainable path to
a common destiny and shared responsibility. We, the youth, must be agents of change to attack
the root causes that uniquely sits at the nexus of protecting street children, pushing for a
paradigm shift based on the recognition of indigenous children rights and to support and
recognize the child’s right to birth registration. There are currently 1.8 billion young people in the
world today and imagine what our world could look like if every single one of these young people
were supported and empowered to reach their full potentials. And as I see it, I want to see a
world where all young people have rights, are learning without fear, and gaining the skills and
knowledge they need to thrive. But in order to do that, we need investment. We need change.
We need advocates. Are you willing to take the risk?
children aged 1–4 accounted for 25 per cent of the 5.4 million under-five deaths in 2017, children aged
1–11 months accounted for 29 per cent and neonates for 47 per cent.

Currently, 79 countries have under-five mortality rates above the SDG target of 25 under-five
deaths per 1000 live births, and 24 countries have rates that are three times higher than that. However,
if the momentum established during the MDG era can be maintained, the world will meet the 2030
target. To reflect the importance of neonatal mortality as part of overall child mortality, a specific target
of 12 neonatal deaths per 1000 live births in 2030 was included in the SDG.

Meeting the SDG target would reduce the number of under-5 deaths by 10 million between
2017 and 2030. Focused efforts are still needed in Sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia to
prevent 80 per cent of these deaths.
The world has made tremendous strides in promoting child survival. Since 2000, the global under-five
mortality rate has been reduced by 47 per cent – from 78 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000 to 41
deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016. That translates into some 50 million children’s lives saved, many of
them in low-income and lower-middle income countries

In 2017, 118 countries already had an underfive mortality rate below the SDG target of a mortality rate
at least as low as 25 deaths per 1,000 live births.

Warring factions in several countries have recently signed peace agreements, such as Burundi, Angola,
and Sierra Leone. The glimmer of light after long years of ferocious civil conflict is slightly dimmed by a
prognosis of a 50% success rate of sustained peace (Collier, 2007). Relapse into conflict is common
despite energetic peace negotiations and large-scale development aid. Easterly (2009) suggests that aid
in Africa suffers from a lack of learning: development aid remains in a cycle of reinventing old ideas
instead of testing and discarding failed ones. In a broad sense, this approach also applies to post-conflict
situations where the development or peace building strategies have often been unable to stabilise
societies in a lasting manner or to provide communities with a reason not to resume fighting. The
challenge here is to learn and apply from the past.

A reasonable approach for post-conflict development would be to immediately launch interventions

that are visible and tangible to the civil community as peace dividends. Concrete and practical
programmes that improve chances of survival and livelihoods are such visible signs

A development plan that is still rooted in emergency actions but incorporates progressively long-term
policies could provide quick results while supplying building blocks for sustainable development. Finally,
the main barrier to progress is lack of a knowledge base on the survival needs of these communities,
where long-term stability is underpinned by tangible improvements in household livelihoods - an
unmistakable sign of good governance

Under-five mortality The world has made substantial progress in child survival since 1990. The global
under-fve mortality rate declined by 56 per cent (53, 58), from 93 (92, 95) deaths per 1,000 live births in
1990 to 41 (39, 44) in 2016 (Table 1 and Figure 1). The majority of the regions in the world and 142 out
of 195 countries at least halved their under-fve mortality rate. Among all countries, more than a third
(67) cut their under-fve mortality by two thirds – 28 of them are lowor lower-middle-income countries,
indicating that improving child survival is possible even in resource-constrained settings.

Accelerating the reduction in child mortality is possible by expanding effective preventive and curative
interventions that target the main causes of child deaths and the most vulnerable newborns and
children. With an increasing share of under-fve deaths occurring during the neonatal period, accelerated
change for child survival, health and development requires greater focus on a healthy start to life.
Children that die in the frst 28 days of life suffer from diseases and conditions that are associated with
quality of care around the time of childbirth and are readily preventable or treatable with proven, cost-
effective interventions. Further reductions in neonatal deaths in particular depend on building stronger
health services, ensuring that every birth is attended by skilled personnel and making hospital care
available in an emergency. Cost-effective interventions for newborn health cover the antenatal period,
the time around birth and the frst week of life, as well as care for small and sick newborns. Despite the
substantial progress in reducing child deaths, children from poorer areas or households remain
disproportionately vulnerable. It is critical to address these inequities to further accelerate the pace of
progress to fulfill the promise to children. Without intensifed efforts to reduce newborn and child
mortality, particularly in the highest-mortality areas and in contexts of persistent inequities, the SDG
targets will be unattainable. Countries and the international community must take immediate action to
further accelerate progress to end preventable newborn and child deaths.

Because of the large differences in child mortality between and within countries, overall reductions in
child mortality of the magnitude envisaged in the SDGs will require designing and implementing policies
to address inequalities in the health environment and living conditions of children, especially those
belonging to the most disadvantaged population groups. To maximize the effectiveness of such policies,
it is important to understand the causes of existing inequalities in child health and survival, identifying
critical factors of success for the policies applied to date and devising better strategies for reducing
inequalities in the future.

Data from the 50 Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) were pooled to create the data set used for the
analysis described here

Despite this accomplishment, more rapid progress is needed to meet the 2015 target of a two-thirds
reduction in under-five mortality. In 2012, an estimated 6.6 million children—18,000 a day— died from
mostly preventable diseases. These children tend to be among the poorest and most marginalized in
society. Increasingly, child deaths are concentrated in the poorest regions—subSaharan Africa and
Southern Asia accounted for 5.3 million (81 per cent) of the 6.6 million deaths in children under five
worldwide

Despite challenges, many countries with very high child death rates in 1987 are beating the odds and
lowering under- sixteen mortality rates, showing progress for all children is achievable.

Child mortality rates have plummeted to less than half of what they were in 1990, according
to a new report released today. Under-five deaths have dropped from 12.7 million per year
in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015. This is the first year the figure has gone below the 6 million
mark.
Recent improvements in child health have been remarkable. Twenty-five countries have already met the
goal of a two-thirds reduction in child mortality rates by 2015, including many of the poorest, high-
burden countries such as Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Liberia, Malawi, Nepal and Tanzania. For many other
countries, including Cambodia, Guinea, Mozambique, Niger and Rwanda, achieving the goal in the
remaining period is within their grasp.1 Many middle-income countries, from Brazil to China, have
already reduced child mortality to below 2 percent or 20 births per 1,000, which is the threshold for
ending preventable child deaths.2 These gains are unprecedented. In 1960, Africa’s child mortality rate
was 27 percent, today it is less than 10 percent.3 Moreover, this progress is accelerating. Sub-Saharan
Africa has reduced child mortality since 2005 at five times the rate it achieved from 1990 to 1995.4 Even
in countries that are lagging behind the MDG4 target, especially those in West and Central Africa,
mortality rates have been reduced by 40 percent since 1990.5 For the first time in history, there is a
realistic prospect of ending preventable child deaths within a generation. Yet while these gains
demonstrate

Evidences:

First point:

 In the Central Region of Ghana, health workers who had implemented child survival activities within the
context of primary health care (PHC) in three rural villages in Gomoa Ewutu Efutu District followed the
infants and children during 1987-1990. The activities included immunization, provision of basic essential
drugs and supplies to treat common childhood diseases, treatment, growth monitoring, health education,
prenatal care services, family planning, disease surveillance, and training and provision of community
health workers. The crude birth rate increased from 42/1000 to 46/1000 population., but there were no
malaria-related deaths in 1990. ARI was a cause of death only in 1987. Diarrhea was always a cause of
death. In 1990, it was the only cause of death among the three diseases. The proportion of under-fives with
acute or chronic malnutrition did not decrease significantly (18.9-13.7%). Traditional birth attendants
performed 95% of deliveries. No maternal deaths and no neonatal tetanus-related deaths occurred during
1987-1990. Immunization coverage among children aged 1-2 years increased from 10% to 80%. By 1990,
the vaccine-preventable childhood diseases no longer afflicted the children. 50% of the under-fives
regularly attended the weekly clinics conducted on non-farming days. Attendance increased to 70% when
the clinics were set up fortnightly or monthly. The PHC project spent US$14/child/year. These findings
show that this project in its entirety had a significant effect on child survival. PHC should be phased in to
achieve the best overall effectiveness.
 Between 1980 and 1991 the proportion of Zambian children dying before reaching five years of
age rose from 15 to 19 percent. This paper explores why this happened. There are no data on
trends in morbidity. However, there is information about the number of visits to health facilities
each year by children with common illnesses. They increased for malaria but fell for diarrhoea
and acute respiratory infection. This does not suggest a dramatic increase in the incidence of
these illnesses. There also was no evidence of an increase in malnutrition. The HIV epidemic
began to affect health by the end of the decade, but it does not fully explain the large increase
in childhood mortality. Many deaths could have been prevented during the 1980s if all district
health services had performed as well as the best. The facility-based data provide an indication
 of broad morbidity trends. One piece of evidence that suggests that consultation rates reflect
underlying morbidity comes from a comparison of districts served by government and mission
facilities. The latter suffered less deterioration of services and shortages of drugs than the
former. SOURCE: https://www.ids.ac.uk/files/Wp76.pdf
 Although respiratory and gastrointestinal infections often occur during or in the month after
measles cases, excess mortality can continue for many months. Hull et al. (1983) followed
children who had measles and compared their overall mortality with that of children who did
not have measles. Half of the extra deaths among children who had measles occurred three to
nine months after the case. Therefore, studies that ascribe death in the one to three months
following a case as measles deaths may be understating the true effect of measles on mortality
rates. One possible explanation for the long-term effect of measles is the growth retardation
that often follows. The Kasongo Project Team (1986) documented that three months after the
onset of measles, growth retardation was still apparent based on both weight-for-age and
weight-for-height relative to local standards, as discussed in Chapter 5. Another possible
explanation is an alternation of physical defense mechanisms or a decrease in
immunocompetence because of the measles virus.
SOURCE:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK236384/

SECOND POINT:

more effective primary care-based prevention and early detection interventions combined with disease
management to avoid further progression, ensure access to treatment and disease control, and ensure
post-treatment follow-up to prevent recurrence.

 First, scaling up healthy lifestyle interventions that target underlying risk factors, such as
economic incentives through taxation, is the most cost-effective strategy, although its full effect
can only be seen in the long run. More rigorous fiscal and regulatory policies for tobacco, sugar,
salt, and alcohol consumption should be introduced, building on existing policies and
knowledge. These policies are powerful levers for reduction of NCDs, increase of revenue that
can be allocated to the health sector, and can also be in favour of poor or low-income
populations.6, 48, 49 In Mexico, the tobacco tax rate is still low compared with other countries and
could be doubled to avert new smokers, especially young people. more effective primary care-
based prevention and early detection interventions combined with disease management to
avoid further progression, ensure access to treatment and disease control, and ensure post-
treatment follow-up to prevent recurrence. The mortality related to diabetes shows the present
situation and the urgency of action. Within OECD countries, Mexico has one of the highest rates
of hospital admissions due to uncontrolled diabetes, twice the OECD average.17 Poor access to,
and poor performance of, primary care are to blame, including limited access to drugs and
supplies and inadequate monitoring of clinical markers. Only 24% of patients with diabetes are
considered to be under adequate control, and 49% of the diabetic population is unaware of
their condition. Short-term improvements in mortality are related to improved access to quality
care for hospital-based treatment for patients, and timely emergency care.
SOURCE: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5024342/

 Our findings indicate that observed child mortality declined from 105 to 77 per 1,000 live births
between the first and last surveys, and most key health interventions now have greater
coverage (Figure 2). Continued breastfeeding (beyond 6 months) was the only health
intervention for which there was a decline in coverage. Substantial increases in coverage were
 found for bed net ownership, vaccination, access to family planning, antenatal care, intermittent
preventive treatment for malaria during pregnancy, and prevention of mother-to-child
transmission of HIV. The increases in coverage were relatively modest for maternal education,
water, and sanitation.
SOURCE: https://ije-blog.com/2018/02/12/what-has-contributed-to-the-reduction-in-mortality-
rate-for-children-aged5-in-sub-saharan-africa/

The probability of dying among children aged 5 to 14 years was 7.2 deaths per 1 000
children aged 5 in 2017, roughly 18% of the under-5 mortality rate in 2017. About 2 500
children in this age group die every day. Globally deaths among children aged 5-9
accounted for 61% of all deaths of children aged 5 to 14 years. Injuries (including road
traffic injuries, drowning, burns, and falls) rank among the top causes of death and
lifelong disability among children aged 5-14 years. The patterns of death in older
children and adolescents reflect the underlying risk profiles of the age groups, with a
shift away from infectious diseases of childhood and towards accidents and injuries,
notably drowning and road traffic injuries for older children and young adolescents. The
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in 2015 were
developed to promote healthy lives and well-being for all children. The SDG Goal 3 is to
end preventable deaths of newborns and under-5 children by 2030. There are two
targets:

1. Reduce newborn mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births in every country
(SDG 3.2); and
2. Reduce under-five mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births in every country
(SDG 3.2).

Target 3.2 is closely linked with target 3.1, to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio
to less than 70 deaths per 100 000 live births, and target 2.2 on ending all forms of
malnutrition, as malnutrition is a frequent cause of death for under-5 children. These
have been translated into the new "Global Strategy for Women’s, Children’s and
Adolescent’s Health" (Global Strategy), which calls for ending preventable child deaths
while addressing emerging child health priorities. Member States need to set their own
targets and develop specific strategies to reduce child mortality and monitor their
progress towards the reduction.

Accelerated progress will be needed in more than a quarter of all countries, to achieve
the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target [1] on under-five mortality by
2030. SOURCE: http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/children-reducing-
mortality

The Effect of the Commencement of SGDs from 2015-2017

 The world has made tremendous strides in promoting child survival. Since 2000, the global
under-five mortality rate has been reduced by 47 per cent – from 78 deaths per 1,000 live births
in 2000 to 41 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2016. That translates into some 50 million children’s
lives saved, many of them in low-income and lower-middleincome countries. The SDG target
 aims to reduce countries’ under-five mortality rate to 25 deaths per 1,000 live births or below,
ending preventable deaths among children under age 5. To reach the child mortality target,
nearly 3 in 10 countries will have to accelerate their progress. About the same proportion of the
world’s children under age 5 live in these countries, which amounts to 191 million children in
the 195 countries with available mortality estimates in 2016.
SOURCE: https://www.unicef.org/eca/sites/unicef.org.eca/files/2018
03/Progress_for_Every_Child_in_the_SDG_Era.pdf
 Child mortality is highest in sub-Saharan Africa, where 1 child in 12 dies before their fifth
birthday, followed by South-East Asia where 1 in 19 dies before reaching 5 years. The annual
rate of reduction in under-five mortality was 3.9% between 2000 and 2015.4 Between 2000 and
2015, there was a 3.1% decline in such deaths, and this rate of improvement would need to be
maintained in order to achieve the child mortality target. SOURCE:
http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2016/EN_WHS2016_Chapter6.p
df
 The global under-five mortality rate in 2015 was 43 per 1000 live births, while the neonatal
mortality rate was 19 per 1000 live births – representing declines of 44% and 37% respectively
compared to the rates in 2000. Newborn deaths represented half or more of all deaths among
children under 5 years of age in all WHO regions in 2015 with the exception of the WHO African
Region where one third of under-five deaths occurred after the first month of life (Figure 2.1).
The WHO African Region also had the highest under-five mortality rate (81.3 per 1000 live
births) that year – almost double the global rate (6).
http://www.who.int/gho/publications/world_health_statistics/2017/EN_WHS2017_Part2.pdf