About 4.9 million children died before the age of five in 2024, according to estimates from the United Nations, highlighting a worrying slowdown in global efforts to reduce child mortality.
Agencies including UNICEF and the World Health Organization said most of these deaths were preventable, often linked to birth complications, malaria and limited access to basic healthcare. While child mortality has more than halved since 2000, progress has stalled in recent years.
Officials warned that conflict, economic instability, climate change and cuts to international aid could reverse decades of gains. Without urgent action, they said, the world risks seeing child survival rates stagnate or even worsen. "No child should die from diseases that we know how to prevent," they conclude.