New Data Shows Child Mortality Rates at Historic Low – But Our Work Isn’t Finished

Washington, DC, September 9, 2015 — A new UNICEF report released this week shows that while the mortality rate of children under the age of five has fallen by more than half since 1990, much work remains to stop millions of kids dying needlessly each year of preventable and treatable causes.

RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund Executive Director Joanne Carter released the following statement:

The world’s progress on child survival is one of the untold success stories of our time, with mortality rates dropping by more than half over the last twenty five years. This is an enormous accomplishment that’s involved scaling up lifesaving health interventions in some of the world’s poorest places.

But according to the latest data, we’re still losing eleven children under the age of five every single minute, mostly of preventable or treatable causes like diarrhea and pneumonia. That’s 16,000 children dying each day. So our work is far from finished.

We now have a global consensus that it is possible to actually end these needless deaths in our lifetimes. That means by 2035, a child born in one of the world’s poorest places could have nearly the same chance of reaching her fifth birthday as one born in the richest. The science shows that we can accomplish this using the tools we already have. The question is no longer whether this is possible, but whether we’ll make it a priority.

As the U.S. Congress returns to Washington this week, there is a new bill that — if enacted — will make sure our country can fully play its part in ending preventable child death.

The Reach Every Mother and Child Act of 2015 is bipartisan legislation led by Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Chris Coons of Delaware. The bill will ensure that our government has the tools and reforms needed to effectively support countries with the highest burden of child and maternal deaths. The Reach Act not only has strong support from both parties, but also from a diverse coalition of humanitarian organizations, faith-based groups, the private sector, and leaders in global development. All are committed to seeing it passed. 

For the first time in human history, it is possible to end these needless deaths once and for all. But it is still far from guaranteed. As members of Congress return to Washington this week, I hope they will seize the opportunity before them.

About RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund:

RESULTS and RESULTS Educational Fund are sister organizations that, together, are a leading force in ending poverty in the United States and around the world. We create long-term solutions to poverty by supporting programs that address its root causes — lack of access to health, education, or opportunity to move up the economic ladder. We empower ordinary people to become extraordinary voices for the end of poverty in their communities, the media, and the halls of government. The collective voices of these passionate grassroots activists leverage millions of dollars for programs and improved policies that give low-income people the tools they need to move out of poverty.

Contact:

Colin Smith
[email protected] 
+1 202.783.4800 x.139