Unicef: Child mortality has fallen slightly

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A father with his sleeping baby in India

Photo: Sivaram V / REUTERS

In the past year, according to the UN Children's Fund Unicef, fewer children under the age of five died from preventable causes than ever before since the statistics began.

However, in view of the corona pandemic, the United Nations is warning of a new rise.

Still 5.2 million children worldwide died of preventable causes in 2019, Unicef ​​announced together with other UN organizations on Wednesday in New York in a report on child mortality.

In 1990 there were still 12.5 million children.

According to the study, however, the trend will worsen again in the coming years: According to experts, around 48 million children under five will die between 2020 and 2030.

Half of them will be newborns.

There are big differences around the world: in 2019, for example, one in 13 children in sub-Saharan Africa died before reaching their fifth birthday.

In Australia and New Zealand, this rate was one in 264 children.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused major disruptions in health systems this year and is jeopardizing the progress made, the report said.

"Without urgently needed investments to restart the disrupted health systems, millions of children under five - especially newborns - could die," said Unicef ​​chief Henrietta Fore.

A Unicef ​​study in 77 countries showed that more than two thirds of them had at least partial problems with health checks and vaccinations for children.

Among other things, this is due to the fact that many health facilities are closed or that parents do not visit them for fear of infection with their children.

Afghanistan, Bolivia, Libya, Sudan and Pakistan are particularly affected.

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kry / dpa