By 𝔸bdulrazak Tomiwa

The United Nations has reported that 4.9 million children died before the age of five in 2024, including 2.3 million newborns. 

While child mortality has decreased significantly since 2000, progress has slowed by 60 percent since 2015. This stall indicates that global efforts to save young lives are losing momentum.

For the first time, this analysis identifies specific causes, revealing that severe acute malnutrition directly killed over 100,000 children. Malnutrition acts as a silent killer by weakening immune systems and making children more susceptible to other diseases.

The actual impact of hunger is likely much higher than the recorded figures suggest.

Most of these deaths are preventable through low-cost healthcare and basic interventions. Infectious diseases like malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea remain the leading killers for older children, while newborns mostly die from preterm birth complications.

Malaria alone is responsible for 17 percent of deaths among children aged one month to five years.

Geographical inequality remains stark, with 58 percent of all under-five deaths occurring in sub-Saharan Africa. Children in conflict-affected or fragile nations are nearly three times more likely to die than those in stable environments.

Countries like Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo face the highest risks due to ongoing instability.

Beyond early childhood, 2.1 million youth aged 5 to 24 also lost their lives in 2024. For older adolescents, the causes of death shift from disease to external factors like road traffic accidents and self-harm. Specifically, self-harm has become the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19 globally.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warns that budget cuts threaten to reverse hard-won gains in child survival. The UN is calling for urgent political and financial prioritization of primary healthcare and vaccinations. Investing in skilled birth attendants and basic health services is essential to meeting global survival targets.