Children are our future: Keeping a focus on child survival

Despite significant progress in reducing child mortality, challenges persist, particularly in low-income and conflict-affected regions. The Child Survival Action (CSA) initiative, launched in 2023, aims to unite governments, civil society, academic institutions, and development partners to improve child health services and achieve SDG 3.2 on ending preventable newborn and child deaths by 2030. This technical brief assesses progress on child mortality, nutritional status, and the coverage of health interventions, focusing on countries that are off-track for achieving SDG targets.

This brief reviews child mortality trends, noting that while global under-five mortality rates have declined, progress has slowed since 2015, with millions of children still dying from preventable causes. It highlights the disparity in child mortality rates between high-income and low-income countries, with the highest mortality rates in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.  The brief also examines child nutritional status, pointing out that nearly half of all child deaths are attributable to undernutrition, which compromises the immune system and increases susceptibility to infections. CSA partners underscore the need for increased investments in primary health care systems and multisectoral action to address the broader determinants of child health, such as access to clean water, sanitation, and food security, and calls for coordinated efforts and robust data collection mechanisms to monitor progress and ensure accountability in improving child survival outcomes.