Political apathy contributes to six million child deaths a year - report

|PIC1|A failure of political will worldwide is contributing to the unnecessary deaths of more than six million children a year, according to a new report by development agency, World Vision.

Nearly nine million children die each year before their fifth birthday in the developing world; the overwhelming majority from preventable conditions such as pneumonia, diarrhoea and neonatal complications.

At least two-thirds of these children could be saved, if governments make child health a priority and refocus health spending on prevention in the community and not just cures at the clinic, says World Vision.

In a week that marks the 20th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of a Child, the aid agency condemns preventable child deaths as “the biggest child rights violation of our time”.

In order to save lives, World Vision calls for more intelligent health spending, and points to a complete mismatch between where the need lies and where funding is directed.

“Over a quarter of a billion children live in a healthcare desert, miles from the nearest clinic or hospital,“ says World Vision UK Chief Executive Justin Byworth. “These unreachable children need simple life-savers in their homes and villages, such as mosquito nets, nutritional supplements and safe, clean drinking water, if we are going to prevent children dying from conditions such as diarrhoea and malaria.”

The report is published to mark the launch of CHILD HEALTH NOW, a global five-year campaign to hold governments to account on their pledge to cut under-five deaths by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. World Vision argues there is still time to achieve this target, but drastic action is required.

Further highlighting the inequity between health spending and the need, the report shows over 80 per cent of child deaths occur in just 30 countries but these countries receive less than 50 per cent of health-focussed aid and over one-third of child deaths are a result of malnutrition but only 1.5 per cent of aid for health is directed towards nutrition

World Vision calls on the UK government to prioritise spending on preventive measures in the worst-affected countries and publish action plans, setting out how the £6 billion they have allocated to health over the next seven years will be spent to ensure it gets to the children who need it most.

“Success is possible,” Mr Byworth said. “Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world but has halved child deaths since 1990 by investing in simple preventive measures within communities, by distributing mosquito nets and increasing the number of skilled birth attendants.

“In contrast, Kenya, the richest country in East Africa, has seen child mortality increase since 1990.

“Saving six million children each year is achievable, but not without the political will to make it happen.”