The childhood mortality rate (the number of children globally who died before age 5) dropped to a record low of 4.9 million in 2022, a 50% reduction since 2000. While this progress is encouraging and a testament to the arduous work and committed efforts of developing nations–including those serving in healthcare missions providing quality care and training national doctors–there is still one early childhood death every six seconds.
Globally, we are off-track to meet 2030 goals to reduce the childhood mortality rate to 25 per 1,000 live births—and progress is at risk of “stagnation or reversal,” warns a joint report produced by UNICEF, the WHO, and the World Bank.
According to available data, early childhood deaths were concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. Countries like Chad, Nigeria, and Somalia see 80 times more deaths than countries with low rates.
The greatest factors in early childhood deaths are preventable or treatable causes, including preterm birth, respiratory diseases, and diarrhea.
MedSend Grant Recipients and National Scholars are on the front lines of this battle every day, teaching public health strategies in vulnerable communities, providing high-quality care to the sick and injured, and training national doctors who will go on to transform their local healthcare systems for generations.
Will you join the fight to lower the childhood mortality rate and save millions of children worldwide in need of access to medical care?
