The UN has identified the leading causes of death for children under 5 for the first time
In 2024, 4.9 million children under the age of five died worldwide, including 2.3 million newborns. This is stated in the report of the UN Interagency Group on Child Mortality Assessment, reported by World Health Organization (WHO) and The Guardian.
The United Nations emphasizes that most of these deaths could be avoided with proven, low-cost interventions and access to quality health care. The study found that under-five mortality has more than halved since 2000. However, since 2015, the pace of this progress has slowed by more than 60%.
“Children living in conflict and crisis are almost three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday. We must protect essential health and food services and reach the most vulnerable families so that every child has the chance not only to survive, but also to thrive,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
The most common causes of newborn deaths were complications related to preterm birth (36%), birth injuries (21%), and infectious diseases and congenital anomalies. After the first month of life, the leading causes of death were malaria, diarrhea, and pneumonia. In particular, 17% of children who lived at least a month died from malaria.
The report also shows that 100,000 children died directly as a result of acute malnutrition, with the highest number of such cases recorded in Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan. At the same time, these figures may be even higher, if we take into account situations where malnutrition weakens the immune system and increases the risk of death from common childhood diseases.
Among girls aged 15 to 19, the leading cause of death is self-harm, while among boys of the same age, injuries from road accidents.
The majority of child deaths occur in a limited number of regions. In 2024, 58% of all deaths of children under five years of age occurred in sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time, 54% of deaths among infants there were caused by infectious diseases.
In South Asia, which accounted for a quarter of all deaths, children most often died from complications in the first month of life that could have been prevented.
“We know how to prevent these deaths. Now we need renewed political commitment, continued investment in primary health care and better data systems to ensure that no child is left behind,” said Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Li Junhua.
In 2025, Ukraine recorded almost half a million deaths. At the same time, there were three deaths for every one born.
