EVERY child is born with the right to live, but not an equal chance.
Throughout the developing world, the most dangerous day in a child's life is the day the child is born, with close to 2 million newborn babies dying on their very first day of life every year. Moreover, 90 per cent of all child deaths under the age five die from easily-preventable diseases.
Save the Children has launched an ambitious five-year campaign to end this injustice, but we cannot do it alone. EVERY ONE of us has a role to play in saving children's lives.
6 million
The number of countries where more than half the preventable child deaths occur: India, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and China
3.5 million
The number of under-5 deaths caused by pneumonia and diarrhea
8.8 million
The number of children who died before the age of 5 from preventable causes in 2008
2 million
The number of children who die before their fifth birthday every year in India alone
2045
The year in which—if nothing changes in the current trajectory of child mortality rates—we will meet MDG4
3%
The rate of reduction since 1990 in under-5 mortality for the poorest wealth quintile in Pakistan—despite the country’s overall 24% cut in child mortality in the same period
40%
The percentage of under-five deaths that occur among newborns, ie. within the first month of life
57
The World Health Organization’s assessment of the number of countries with “critical shortages” of health workers—36 of them in Africa
86%
The proportion of newborn deaths which are caused by severe infections, asphyxia, and premature births, which are nearly all preventable and treatable
500,000
The number of lives that can be saved annually by Save the Children’s programs, delivered with our partners, that expand the coverage of high-impact proven health and nutrition interventions