This post was written for Escape Velocity Blog and first appeared there.
While the info-graphics above need no explanation, for those who lack the time to enlarge the image and peruse them, am mentioning below some key take-aways:
- 6.6 Mn children under the age of 5 died in 2012
- The global under-5 mortality rate equals 48 deaths per 1000 births
- In case you thought the scourge of pneumonia had been banished, think again; it accounts for 17% of these deaths, and is the largest contributor, along with prematurity. Pneumonia is still the leading cause of deaths in 83 countries
- Malaria is still a major killer in Sub-Saharan Africa, causing about 14 percent of under-five deaths in the region.
- Deaths due to diarrhoea have been nearly halved in the past decade but it still accounts for a tenth of all under-five deaths. Deaths due to Diarrhoea are high in countries such as India, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Angola, Niger etc.
- India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Nigeria and China, 7 of the most populous countries, collectively accounted for half of the total number of under-five deaths globally
- While China is mentioned among these, it’s under-5 mortality rate (at 14 deaths per 1000 births) is actually much less than that of the other nations , it features on this list die it’s large population base
- Of these nations, the statistic is the worst for Nigeria, with an under-5 mortality rate of 124 deaths per 1000 births
In case to wish to see statistics on under-5 mortality rates or causes for a particular country, you can click on this link for causes and this link for rates.
