International Perspective
African child 30 times more likely to die than European child , UNICEF report reveals
By Stephen Macharia
Inequity threatens the future of millions of children in the world and undermines stability of societies and security of nations , the United Nations has said in a report .
According to the World Children 2016 report released by United Nations Children ’ s Fund ( UNICEF ) last month , 5.9 million children died in 2015 before reaching age 5 , “ mostly as a result of diseases that can be readily and affordably prevented and treated .” Pneumonia , diarrhoea , malaria , meningitis , tetanus , measles , sepsis and AIDS caused nearly half of the deaths according to the report .
Pneumonia and diarrhoea remain leading causes of death in Eastern and Southern Africa , South Asia and West and Central Africa , the regions with the highest under-five mortality rates globally .
In Kenya , pneumonia was the highest killer disease claiming 22,473 lives last year – an increase of over 800 deaths from what was recorded in 2014 – according to the Economic Survey 2015 released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics earlier this year . Malaria ranked second highest killing 20,691 people , a drop of 2,257 deaths from those the disease claimed in 2014 .
Writing in the UNICEF report , Executive Director Antony Lake notes that “ Millions of children ’ s lives are blighted , for no other reason than the country , the community , the gender or the circumstances into which they are born .” Before their first breath , Lake continues , “ the life chances of poor and excluded children are often being shaped by inequities .”
The report paints a grim picture of Africa where it estimates that 3.6 million children under age 5 will die in 2030 , still from mostly preventable causes if “ disparities in maternal health , the availability of skilled birth attendants , adequate nutrition and access to basic services , as well as other factors such as discrimination , exclusion and a lack of knowledge about child feeding and the role of safe water , adequate sanitation and hygiene in preventing childhood disease .”
Globally , trends in under five
56 November-December 2016