Policy Brief: Newborn and child survival

Published

January 2009

An estimated 8.8 million children die before the age of five each year — that’s almost one child every three seconds.

Nearly all — 97% — of these children die in low- or middle-income countries, and disproportionately from the poorest and most marginalised communities within those countries.

While child mortality rates are on average 148 per 1,000 in sub-Saharan Africa and 78 per 1,000 in South Asia, the rates in industrialised countries are up to 25 times lower.

This policy brief looks at the reasons why children are dying, the measures Save the Children is calling for and what we want governments to do to tackle the underlying causes.

• Download Policy Brief: Newborn and Child Survival (PDF 90KB)
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Related reading

• Saving Children's Lives: Why equity matters
• The Child Development Index: Holding Governments to account for children's wellbeing
• Lasting Benefits: The role of cash transfers in tackling child mortality
• Tracking Progress in Maternal, Newborn and Child Survival: The 2008 report