How many child deaths can we prevent this year?

Area of Science:

• Child health
• Global public health
• Preventive medicine

Background:

• Child mortality remains high, with over 10 million deaths annually from preventable causes like diarrhea, pneumonia, and undernutrition.
• Existing interventions target major causes of death in children under five, including infectious diseases and neonatal complications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and classify child survival interventions based on evidence of effectiveness for delivery in low-income settings.
• To assess the potential impact of universal intervention coverage on reducing child mortality rates.

Main Methods:

• Interventions were categorized into Level 1 (sufficient evidence), Level 2 (limited evidence), and Level 3 (inadequate evidence).
• Feasibility of high-coverage delivery in low-income settings was a key consideration for intervention classification.

Main Results:

• Level 1 interventions are available for most major causes of child death, with a Level 2 intervention for birth asphyxia.
• Global coverage for most child survival interventions is below 50%.
• Universal availability of Level 1 or 2 interventions could prevent 63% of all child deaths.

Conclusions:

• Evidence-based interventions are available to significantly reduce child mortality and achieve global health goals.
• The primary barrier to reducing child deaths is the inadequate delivery and low global coverage of existing, effective interventions.
• Increased access to and delivery of proven child survival strategies are crucial for improving child health outcomes worldwide.