Every year 7.6 million children worldwide die before their fifth birthday from easily preventable causes. Half of these deaths occur in five countries: India, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, and Ethiopia. Pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria are the top killers, among others. Think about it: 7.6 million children, nearly the number of people living in New York City, gone forever each year!
We have made progress. From 12 million in 1990, the number of child deaths has declined by 35% in 20 years. Still, at that rate it will take 100 years to close the gap between rich and poor countries.
“Progress is not the same thing as success,” noted U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In a compelling speech she called on everyone to close that gap not in 100 years, but rather “in my lifetime.”
How do we change things to reach a child mortality rate of 20/1000 in every country by 2035? The answer is by focusing on countries with the highest burden. Just 75 countries account for 95% of child deaths. (See the Countdown to 2015 report here.) Also, target the most vulnerable population groups – especially women and girls — and fight the illnesses that take most lives. Finally, improve broad social and economic factors and be rigorous on transparency and accountability.
Hollywood actor Ben Affleck spoke about the Eastern Congo Initiative, hailing the country’s 8% annual reduction in child mortality but pointing out that the Democratic Republic of the Congo, with just 1% of world’s population, suffers 6% of the world’s child mortality.
I am not a star chaser, but I did request an autograph — from Dr. Hans Rosling. The professor of International Health at Karolinska Institute in Sweden made data sing and dance, just like he does in every one of his Youtube hits. His presentation made the economic argument that a nation’s people get healthier before the country gets wealthy. Child survival, he concluded, “is very smart business.” He illustrated this trend in Sweden’s case by comparing generations of his family with the health status of countries today: “My grandmother was Nigeria, my mother was India. I was China. My daughter was Chile and my granddaughter was Singapore.”
The other star I met in person for the first time is one of the Aga Khan Development Network’s own: Dr. Zufiqar Bhutta, Chair of Division of Women and Child Health at Aga Khan University in Pakistan. (He has a Karolinska connection too: he received his Ph.D. in nutrition there.) In several speaking events at the two-day forum and at a pre-forum side meeting, the world-renowned expert on child health and nutrition showed his deep love of his homeland, see Lancet and his vision for next steps.
Dr. Bhutta expressed deep concern that one third of Pakistan is at war while still recovering from a massive earthquake and flooding, two major humanitarian crises. Like most charismatic thought leaders I have worked with, he is always looking ahead. He called for the scaling-up and integration of services to look beyond survival, attended birth or hospital care, and instead focus on quality of life, child development, and nutrition to provide children with the best opportunities to thrive.
Lidan Du is the Senior Health Program Officer for AKF USA.