7 million premature deaths annually linked to air pollution

25 March 2014 | Geneva - In new estimates released today, WHO reports that in 2012 around 7 million people died - one in eight of total global deaths – as a result of air pollution exposure. This finding more than doubles previous estimates and confirms that air pollution is now the world’s largest single environmental health risk. Reducing air pollution could save millions of lives.

New estimates

In particular, the new data reveal a stronger link between both indoor and outdoor air pollution exposure and cardiovascular diseases, such as strokes and ischaemic heart disease, as well as between air pollution and cancer. This is in addition to air pollution’s role in the development of respiratory diseases, including acute respiratory infections and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases.

The new estimates are not only based on more knowledge about the diseases caused by air pollution, but also upon better assessment of human exposure to air pollutants through the use of improved measurements and technology. This has enabled scientists to make a more detailed analysis of health risks from a wider demographic spread that now includes rural as well as urban areas.

Regionally, low- and middle-income countries in the WHO South-East Asia and Western Pacific Regions had the largest air pollution-related burden in 2012, with a total of 3.3 million deaths linked to indoor air pollution and 2.6 million deaths related to outdoor air pollution.

“Cleaning up the air we breathe prevents non-communicable diseases as well as reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly...”

Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General Family, Women and Children’s Health

“Cleaning up the air we breathe prevents noncommunicable diseases as well as reduces disease risks among women and vulnerable groups, including children and the elderly,” says Dr Flavia Bustreo, WHO Assistant Director-General Family, Women and Children’s Health. “Poor women and children pay a heavy price from indoor air pollution since they spend more time at home breathing in smoke and soot from leaky coal and wood cook stoves.”

Included in the assessment is a breakdown of deaths attributed to specific diseases, underlining that the vast majority of air pollution deaths are due to cardiovascular diseases as follows:

Outdoor air pollution-caused deaths – breakdown by disease:

• 40% – ischaemic heart disease;
• 40% – stroke;
• 11% – chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD);
• 6% - lung cancer; and
• 3% – acute lower respiratory infections in children.

Indoor air pollution-caused deaths – breakdown by disease:

• 34% - stroke;
• 26% - ischaemic heart disease;
• 22% - COPD;
• 12% - acute lower respiratory infections in children; and
• 6% - lung cancer.

The new estimates are based on the latest WHO mortality data from 2012 as well as evidence of health risks from air pollution exposures. Estimates of people’s exposure to outdoor air pollution in different parts of the world were formulated through a new global data mapping. This incorporated satellite data, ground-level monitoring measurements and data on pollution emissions from key sources, as well as modelling of how pollution drifts in the air.

Risks factors are greater than expected

“The risks from air pollution are now far greater than previously thought or understood, particularly for heart disease and strokes,” says Dr Maria Neira, Director of WHO’s Department for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “Few risks have a greater impact on global health today than air pollution; the evidence signals the need for concerted action to clean up the air we all breathe.”

After analysing the risk factors and taking into account revisions in methodology, WHO estimates indoor air pollution was linked to 4.3 million deaths in 2012 in households cooking over coal, wood and biomass stoves. The new estimate is explained by better information about pollution exposures among the estimated 2.9 billion people living in homes using wood, coal or dung as their primary cooking fuel, as well as evidence about air pollution's role in the development of cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, and cancers.

In the case of outdoor air pollution, WHO estimates there were 3.7 million deaths in 2012 from urban and rural sources worldwide.

Many people are exposed to both indoor and outdoor air pollution. Due to this overlap, mortality attributed to the two sources cannot simply be added together, hence the total estimate of around 7 million deaths in 2012.

“Excessive air pollution is often a by-product of unsustainable policies in sectors such as transport, energy, waste management and industry. In most cases, healthier strategies will also be more economical in the long term due to health-care cost savings as well as climate gains,” says Dr Carlos Dora, WHO Coordinator for Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health. “WHO and health sectors have a unique role in translating scientific evidence on air pollution into policies that can deliver impact and improvements that will save lives.”

The release of today’s data is a significant step in advancing a WHO roadmap for preventing diseases related to air pollution. This involves the development of a WHO-hosted global platform on air quality and health to generate better data on air pollution-related diseases and strengthened support to countries and cities through guidance, information and evidence about health gains from key interventions.

Later this year, WHO will release indoor air quality guidelines on household fuel combustion, as well as country data on outdoor and indoor air pollution exposures and related mortality, plus an update of air quality measurements in 1600 cities from all regions of the world.

For more information, contact

Mr Tarik Jasarevic
Mobile: +41 79 367 6214
Telephone: +41 22 791 5099
E-mail: jasarevict@who.int

Glenn Thomas
Telephone: +41 22 791 3983
Mobile: +41 79 509 0677
E-mail: thomasg@who.int

Nada Osseiran
Communications Officer, Department of Public Health, Environmental and Social Determinants of Health
Telephone: +41 22 791 4475
Mobile: +4179 445 1624
E-mail: osseirann@who.int

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Big Cigarette Tax Hikes Might Prevent 200 Million Deaths in a Century

Study authors suggest that nations triple tobacco taxes

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China investigates after vaccine suspected in seven deaths

BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese health authorities are investigating after seven infants died following inoculation with a hepatitis B vaccine, state media reported on Monday.

China has been beset by a series of product safety scandals over the past few years.

At least six children died in 2008 after drinking milk contaminated by the industrial chemical melamine, and there have also been reports of children dying or becoming seriously ill from faulty encephalitis, hepatitis B and rabies vaccines.

State news agency Xinhua said that of the seven deaths from the hepatitis B vaccine in the latest case, four were in the southern province of Guangdong. The other cases were in the provinces of Hunan and Sichuan.

The official China Daily said that all hospitals using the vaccine, made by Shenzhen-based BioKangtai, had been ordered to take it off their shelves while the Health Ministry investigates the company's products and the deaths.

The company said in a statement last week, carried by state media, said that it rigorously followed safety rules but that they were testing the batches suspected of causing the deaths.

The topic has been widely discussed on China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service Sina Weibo, with many people worried about the safety of China's vaccines and calling on the government to make more information public.

"Why was this allowed onto the market? The government needs to come clean about this," wrote one Weibo user.

Many Chinese people are suspicious that the government tries to cover up bad news about health problems, despite assurances of transparency. In 2003, the government initially tried to cover-up the outbreak of the SARS virus.

(Reporting by Ben Blanchard and Hui Li; Editing by Robert Birsel)

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Pneumonia still responsible for one fifth of child deaths

12 November 2013 | Geneva - Pneumonia remains the single biggest killer of children under 5 globally, claiming the lives of more than 1 million girls and boys every year. But pneumonia deaths are preventable.

As countries mark World Pneumonia Day on 12 November, WHO, UNICEF and the GAVI Alliance are highlighting essential actions that can help end child deaths from this disease.

“Every 30 seconds, a child younger than 5 dies of pneumonia. This is a great shame as we know what it takes to prevent children from dying of this illness,” says Dr Mickey Chopra, Chief of Health, UNICEF. “Tackling pneumonia doesn’t necessarily need complicated solutions.”

Many factors contribute to pneumonia, and no single intervention can effectively prevent, treat and control it. 5 simple but effective interventions, if implemented properly, will help reduce the burden of the disease that is responsible for almost one-fifth of all child deaths around the world.

These are:

• exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and continued breastfeeding complemented by nutritious solid foods up to age 2;
• vaccination against whooping cough (pertussis), measles, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) and pneumococcus;
• safe drinking water, sanitation and handwashing facilities;
• improved cooking stoves to reduce indoor air pollution; and
• treatment, including amoxicillin dispersible tablets and oxygen.

The theme of World Pneumonia Day 2013 is “Innovate to End Child Pneumonia”. Recognizing that child mortality cannot be addressed in a vacuum, but only through integrated efforts, in April 2013, WHO and UNICEF released an Integrated Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Pneumonia and Diarrhoea (GAPPD).

The GAPPD presents an innovative framework bringing together prevention, protection and control of both pneumonia and diarrhoea – two of the world’s leading killers of children under 5 - to make more efficient and effective use of scarce health resources.

To mark 5th World Pneumonia Day, Mauritania and Papua New Guinea are today introducing the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against one of the leading causes of pneumonia. With support from the GAVI Alliance, more than 50 countries will introduce this vaccine by 2015.

“The GAVI Alliance is helping to accelerate the fight against pneumonia by increasing access to pneumococcal vaccines, thanks to GAVI’s innovative Advance Market Commitment (AMC), but also to the 5-in-1 pentavalent vaccine which protects against Haemophilus influenzae type b, another major cause of pneumonia,” says Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of the GAVI Alliance.

Since the launch of the GAPPD 7 months ago, several countries have taken this forward. For example, Bangladesh and Zambia are translating the GAPPD into local implementation plans in some districts. Programme managers responsible for immunisation, child health, nutrition and water and sanitation have joined forces to accelerate progress and eliminate preventable deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea.

In addition, in October 2013, WHO published new technical advice for countries:

• Based on a review of the latest evidence, guidelines on the treatment of pneumonia were updated, recommending simpler antibiotic regimens.
• A handbook to guide district and health facility staff on how to introduce the pneumococcal vaccine emphasizes using new vaccine introductions to scale up access to other essential interventions to protect, prevent and treat pneumonia, in line with the GAPPD.

“To achieve the vision and goals of the integrated plan – to end preventable deaths from pneumonia and diarrhoea in the next generation – the children of the world need to see political will, coordinated efforts, and increased resources at the global and national levels to fight these stubborn killers,” says Dr Elizabeth Mason, Director of WHO’s Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health.

For more information please contact:

Tarik Jasarevic
Communications Officer
Mobile: +41 79 367 6214
E-mail: jasarevict@who.int

Tamara Kummer
UNICEF New York
Mobile: +1 (617) 331 4305
E-mail: tkummer@unicef.org

Frederique Tissandier
GAVI Alliance
Mobile: +41 79 300 8253
E-mail: ftissandier@gavialliance.org

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First-ever targeted roadmap outlines steps to end childhood TB deaths

1 October 2013 | Washington - The deaths of more than 74 000 children from tuberculosis (TB) could be prevented each year through measures outlined in the first ever action plan developed specifically on TB and children.

The "Roadmap for childhood TB: towards zero deaths", launched today by global TB leaders ¹ in Washington D.C., estimates that US$ 120 million per year could have a major impact on saving tens of thousands of children’s lives from TB, including among children infected with both TB and HIV.

Every day, more than 200 children under the age of 15 die needlessly from TB – a disease that is preventable and curable. WHO estimates that as many as 1 in 10 TB cases globally (6 to 10% of all TB cases) are among this age group, but that the number could be even higher because many children are simply undiagnosed. The new roadmap builds on the latest knowledge of the disease and identifies clear actions to prevent these child deaths.

“Any child who dies from TB is one child too many,” says Dr Mario Raviglione, Director, Global Tuberculosis Programme at WHO. “TB is preventable and treatable, and this roadmap focuses on immediate actions governments and partners can take to stop children dying.”

The launch of the first roadmap on TB and children follows increasing awareness on the urgent need to address the issue. Under the child survival movement’s banner of A Promise Renewed, more than 175 countries signed a pledge in June 2012, vowing to redouble efforts to stop children from dying of preventable diseases, including tuberculosis.

A small price tag to halt a global disease

The US$ 120 million a year in new funding for addressing TB in children from governments and donors includes US$ 40 million for HIV antiretroviral therapy and preventive therapy (to prevent active TB disease) for children co-infected with TB and HIV.

The funds will also go towards improving detection, developing better medicines for children and integrating TB treatment into existing maternal and child health programmes. Getting more paediatric health professionals to actively screen for TB with better tools, i.e. drugs, diagnostics and vaccines, will help capture the full scope of the epidemic and reach more children with life-saving treatment sooner.

“Far too many children with tuberculosis are not getting the treatment they need,” says Nicholas Alipui, Director of Programmes for UNICEF. “Most of these children live in the poorest, most vulnerable households. It is wrong that any children should die for want of a simple, affordable cure, especially where there are community-based options to deliver life-saving interventions.”

Ten actions to save young lives

The "Roadmap for childhood TB: towards zero deaths" recommends ten actions at national and global levels:

• include the needs of children and adolescents in research, policy development and clinical practices;
• collect and report better data, including preventive measures;
• develop training and reference materials on childhood TB for health workers;
• foster local expertise and leadership among child health workers at all levels of health systems;
• use critical intervention strategies, such as intensive case finding, contact tracing and preventive therapy; implement policies enabling early diagnosis; and ensure there is an uninterrupted supply of high-quality anti-TB medicines for children;
• engage key stakeholders and establish effective communication and collaboration between the health sector and other sectors that address the social determinants of health and access to care;
• develop integrated family- and community-centred strategies to provide comprehensive and effective services at the community level;
• address research gaps in the following areas: epidemiology, fundamental research, the development of new tools (such as diagnostics, medicines and vaccines); and address gaps in operational research and research looking at health systems and services;
• close all funding gaps for childhood TB;
• form coalitions and partnerships to study and evaluate the best strategies for preventing and managing childhood TB, and for improving tools used for diagnosis and treatment.

“If a small child can summon the bravery to complete a six-month TB treatment, the global community must be similarly brave in its ambitions to defeat the epidemic,” says Dr Lucica Ditiu, Executive Secretary of the Stop TB Partnership. “To get to zero TB deaths, we must focus on the most vulnerable groups and children are the most vulnerable of all. The steps outlined in this roadmap are simple and low-cost. We owe it to the children of the world to put this plan into action.”

Bringing childhood TB into the mainstream

As more attention has focused on the need to address child TB, experts have sought to broaden the net and involve organizations and agencies beyond the national TB programmes that have contact with children. As much as possible, the roadmap recommends that TB services for children be mainstreamed into existing children’s health services, and more responsibility and accountability be given to primary care providers.

“By scaling up existing tools and investing in improved approaches for the future, we can turn the tide on this hidden epidemic. But we must put these tools in the hands of front-line health care workers and use every opportunity to identify children at risk for TB,” says Dr Tom Kenyon, Director of the Center for Global Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We must ensure systems are in place to serve children through existing health, community, and child-centred services.”

Moving to this type of family-centred or community-centred approach, however, will require effective collaboration and joint planning among TB control programmes, maternal and child health services, and HIV services.

“If we can shift TB diagnosis and treatment out of specialised programmes and into other existing maternal and child health activities, we automatically gain reach and scale,” says Jose Luis Castro, Interim Executive Director of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. “Combining that scale with investment in tools and medicine would save tens of thousands of lives.”

“By integrating critical child TB interventions into community health services, we will contribute to the global goal of ending preventable child deaths,” says Katie Taylor, Deputy Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Global Health, USAID. “The next step will require investment and engagement at all levels, including families, frontline health workers, and community leaders. The Roadmap equips all involved with the tools needed to fight childhood TB. As a result, children will receive the quality and comprehensive care they deserve close to home.”

"Current diagnostics, toxic drugs and inadequate drug formulations are insufficient to respond to the needs of children with TB,” says Colleen Daniels, Director TB/HIV at Treatment Action Group (TAG). “New tools will be a crucial part of addressing TB in children and current investments are minimal at best. Much more investment and commitment to childhood TB is urgently needed now".

---

¹ World Health Organization (WHO), Stop TB Partnership, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union), UNICEF, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and Treatment Action Group (TAG).

About the Global TB Programme, WHO

The Global TB Programme at WHO guides global action for a world free of TB by advancing universal access to TB prevention, care and control; framing the response to threats through norms, standards and strategy; technically supporting Member States; monitoring the burden and response; and promoting innovation. WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.

About the Stop TB Partnership

The Stop TB Partnership is leading the way to a world without tuberculosis, a disease that is curable but still kills three people every minute. Its partners are a collective force that is transforming the fight against TB in more than 100 countries. They include international and technical organizations, government programmes, research and funding agencies, foundations, NGOs, civil society and community groups and the private sector.

About the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease

The mission of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease (The Union) is to bring innovation, expertise, solutions and support to address health challenges in low- and middle-income populations. With nearly 15 000 members and subscribers from 150 countries, The Union has its headquarters in Paris and offices in the Africa, Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, North America and South-East Asia regions. Its scientific departments focus on tuberculosis and HIV, lung health and non-communications diseases, tobacco control and research.

About UNICEF and A Promise Renewed

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is hosting the secretariat of A Promise Renewed, a global movement that seeks through action and advocacy to accelerate reductions in preventable maternal, newborn and child deaths. The movement emerged from the Child Survival Call to Action, a high-level forum convened in June 2012 by the Governments of Ethiopia, India and the United States, in collaboration with UNICEF, to examine ways to spur progress on child survival and advance the goals of Every Woman Every Child, a strategy launched by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to mobilize and intensify global action to improve the health of women and children everywhere. Over 175 governments have signed a pledge vowing to redouble efforts to stop women and children from dying of preventable causes. Hundreds of civil society organizations, including Save the Children, have signed their own pledges of support for this global effort.

About U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) protects people's health and safety by preventing and controlling diseases and injuries; enhances health decisions by providing credible information on critical health issues; and promotes healthy living through strong partnerships with local, national, and international organizations.

About the United States Agency for International Development

The American people, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), have provided economic and social development, as well as humanitarian assistance, worldwide for more than 50 years. USAID’s programs in global health represent the commitment and determination of the US government to partner with countries to prevent suffering, save lives, and create a brighter future for families throughout the world. USAID’s Bureau for Global Health is contributing to President Obama’s goal of eliminating extreme poverty by working to end preventable child deaths and realize an AIDS-free generation.

About the Treatment Action Group

Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent AIDS research and policy think tank fighting for better treatment, a vaccine, and a cure for AIDS. TAG works to ensure that all people with HIV receive lifesaving treatment, care, and information. We are science-based treatment activists working to expand and accelerate vital research and effective community engagement with research and policy institutions. TAG catalyzes open collective action by all affected communities, scientists, and policy makers to end AIDS.

For more information please contact:

Glenn Thomas
Communications Officer
WHO
Telephone: +41 22 791 3983
Mobile: +41 79 509 0677
E-mail: thomasg@who.int

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'Intensifed' Global Effort Needed to Further Cut Child Deaths: Report

THURSDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) -- Even in the best-case scenario, only 15 countries are projected to meet targets to reduce child deaths by 2035, a new study says.

The targets were set by international health agencies as a follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals,a United Nations initiative that expires in 2015.

Rates of child and mother deaths have fallen in most countries since 2000, when the Millennium Development Goals were set. However, efforts to improve mothers' and children's health must intensify to keep achieving significant reductions in the number of child deaths in low- and middle-income countries, according to the authors of the study, which appears Sept. 19 in The Lancet.

"While falling rates of maternal and child deaths are to be welcomed, our analysis shows that if historical trends continue, there will still be 5.4 million deaths in children under 5 in 2035," lead author Dr. Neff Walker, of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, said in a journal news release.

"This number could be more than halved if all countries were able to match the performance of countries which have made the best improvements in recent years," Walker added. "Governments -- both of the countries most affected by maternal and child deaths, and of nations providing development assistance -- must redouble their efforts to deliver known and proven interventions at high and sustained levels and search for new interventions that will save the lives of more children."

He and his colleagues analyzed data from 69 low- and middle-income nations. Fifty-eight of the countries included in the study were from 75 "Countdown to 2015" countries, which account for more than 90 percent of all mother and child deaths worldwide.

"Countdown to 2015" is a movement of academics, governments, international agencies, health-care professional associations, donors, and nongovernmental organizations worldwide that works in partnership with The Lancet to support progress toward meeting the Millennium goals.

The researchers used the results from the 69 countries to project deaths to 2035 for all Countdown countries except South Sudan, for which there was too little data.

If current trends continue, the number of countries where the death rate for children younger than age 5 would be less than 20 per 1,000 would increase from four of the 74 Countdown countries in 2010 to nine in 2035, according to the study. However, if all countries matched the improvements seen in the best-performing countries, 15 of the 74 Countdown countries would be able to achieve that lower death rate.

Put another way, the number of under-5 deaths in the 74 Countdown countries would decrease from 7.6 million in 2010 to 5.4 million in 2035 if current trends continue, and fall to 2.3 million deaths if all countries could match the improvements in the best-performing countries.

"Both malaria and HIV interventions were introduced in the late 1990s, and benefited from high financial investment and political commitment. They are examples of what is possible, and of what needs to be done for other highly effective maternal and child health interventions," Walker said.

"The challenge to the global public health community is clear: Ways to reach more women and children with the full range of effective interventions need to be identified," he added.

More information

The World Health Organization has more about child deaths worldwide.

Copyright c 2013?HealthDay. All rights reserved.

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UN: Global child deaths down by almost half since 1990

13 September 2013 | NEW YORK/GENEVA - In 2012, approximately 6.6 million children worldwide – 18 000 children per day – died before reaching their fifth birthday, according to a new report released today by UNICEF, WHO, the World Bank Group and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division. This is roughly half the number of under-fives who died in 1990, when more than 12 million children died.

“This trend is a positive one. Millions of lives have been saved," said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. "And we can do still better. Most of these deaths can be prevented, using simple steps that many countries have already put in place – what we need is a greater sense of urgency.”

The leading causes of death among children aged less than five years include pneumonia, prematurity, birth asphyxia, diarrhoea and malaria. Globally, about 45% of under-five deaths are linked to undernutrition.

About half of under-five deaths occur in only five countries: China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. India (22%) and Nigeria (13%) together account for more than one-third of all deaths of children under the age of five.

Newborn children are at particularly high risk

“Care for mother and baby in the first 24 hours of any child’s life is critical for the health and wellbeing of both,” says Dr Margaret Chan, Director-General at WHO. “Up to half of all newborn deaths occur within the first day.”

The lives of most of these babies could be saved if they had access to some basic health-care services. These include skilled care during and after childbirth; inexpensive medicines such as antibiotics; and practices such as skin-to-skin contact between mothers and their newborn babies and exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

Progress, challenges

While the global average annual rate of reduction in under-five mortality accelerated from 1.2% a year for the period 1990–1995 to 3.9% for 2005–2012, it remains insufficient to reach Millennium Development Goal 4 which aims to reduce the under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

“Continued investments by countries to strengthen health systems are essential to ensure that all mothers and children can get the affordable, quality care they need to live healthy, productive lives,” said Keith Hansen, Acting Vice President of Human Development at the World Bank Group.

Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, faces significant challenges as the region with the highest child mortality rates in the world. With a rate of 98 deaths per 1000 live births, a child born in sub-Saharan Africa faces more than 16 times the risk of dying before his or her fifth birthday than a child born in a high-income country.

However, sub-Saharan Africa has shown remarkable acceleration in its progress, with the annual rate of reduction in deaths increasing from 0.8% in 1990–1995 to 4.1% in 2005–2012. This is the result of sound government policies, prioritized investments and actions to address the key causes of child mortality and reach even the most difficult to reach populations.

Global and national action to improve child health

Both globally and in countries, a series of initiatives are in place aimed at improving access to maternal and child health care, inspired by the United Nations Secretary-General’s widely endorsed Global Strategy for Women’s and Children’s Health which aims to save 16 million lives by 2015 through a “continuum of care” approach.

As part of this strategy, focus on specific areas is given through:

• A Global Vaccine Action Plan that is working towards universal access to immunization by 2020. Vaccination against preventable diseases is one of most effective country-driven and globally-supported actions, as it currently averts an estimated two to three million deaths every year in all age groups from diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), and measles. In 2012, an estimated 83% (111 million) of infants worldwide were vaccinated with three doses of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTP3) vaccine.
• Some 176 countries have signed on to A Promise Renewed – the call to action spearheaded by the Governments of Ethiopia, India and the United States, together with UNICEF in a global effort to stop children from dying of causes that are easily prevented.
• The United Nations Commission on Life-Saving Commodities for Women and Children is helping countries improve access to priority medicines such as basic antibiotics and oral rehydration salts.
• Earlier this year, WHO and UNICEF joined other partners in establishing a new Global Action Plan for Pneumonia and Diarrhoea which aims to end preventable child deaths from these two major killers of under-fives by 2025. The plan promotes practices known to protect children from disease, such as creating a healthy home environment, and measures to ensure that every child has access to proven and appropriate preventive and treatment measures.
• Similarly, partners are working on Every Newborn: a global action plan to end preventable deaths. The aim is to launch this global newborn action plan in May 2014 and provide strategic directions to prevent and manage the most common causes of newborn mortality, which account for around 44% of all under-five mortality.
• UNICEF, WHO and the World Bank Group all support the Scaling Up Nutrition (SUN) global movement in its efforts to collaborate with countries to implement programmes to address poor nutrition at scale with a core focus on empowering women.

"Global partnerships to further accelerate the reduction of under-five mortality globally and in sub-Saharan Africa are essential," said Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs at the United Nations. "In this regard, it is critical that national governments and development partners redouble efforts through to the end of 2015 and beyond."

Note to editors:

Global estimates of child mortality are challenging to produce because many countries lack complete systems to track vital records. The estimates released today are based on statistical models and data from a variety of sources, including household surveys and censuses.

All the numbers cited here fall within a statistical confidence range. For example, the estimated global number of 6.6 million deaths in 2012 falls within the statistical confidence range from 6.3 to 7.0.

About UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME)

The report "Levels & trends in child mortality" was produced by the IGME which is led by UNICEF and WHO, and also includes the World Bank and the United Nations Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. IGME was formed in 2004 to share data on child mortality, harmonize estimates within the UN system, improve methods for child mortality estimation report on progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and enhance country capacity to produce timely and properly assessed estimates of child mortality.

About UNICEF

UNICEF works in more than 190 countries and territories to help children survive and thrive, from early childhood through adolescence. The world’s largest provider of vaccines for developing countries, UNICEF supports child health and nutrition, good water and sanitation, quality basic education for all boys and girls, and the protection of children from violence, exploitation, and AIDS. UNICEF is funded entirely by the voluntary contributions of individuals, businesses, foundations and governments.

About WHO

WHO is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system. It is responsible for providing leadership on global health matters, shaping the health research agenda, setting norms and standards, articulating evidence-based policy options, providing technical support to countries, and monitoring and assessing health trends and improving global health security.

About the World Bank Group

The World Bank Group is a vital source of financial and technical assistance to developing countries around the world, with the goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Improving health is integral to achieving these goals. The Bank Group provides financing, state-of-the-art analysis, and policy advice to help countries expand access to quality, affordable health care; protect people from falling into poverty or worsening poverty due to illness; and promote investments in all sectors that form the foundation of healthy societies.

For more information please contact:

Fadela Chaib
Communications Officer/WHO Spokesperson
WHO, Geneva
Telephone: +41 22 791 32 28
Mobile: +41 79 475 55 56
E-mail: chaibf@who.int

Kate Donavon
UNICEF Media
Telephone: + 1 212 326 7452
Mobile: + 1 917 378 2128
E-mail: kdonovan@unicef.org

Marixie Mercado
UNICEF Media in Geneva
Telephone: +41 22 909 5716
Mobile +41 79 756 7703
E-mail: mmercado@unicef.org

Iman Morooka
UNICEF Strategic Communications
Telephone: +1 212 326 7211
E-mail: imorooka@unicef.org

Melanie Mayhew
World Bank Group
Telephone: +1 202-459-7115
E-mail: mmayhew1@worldbank.org

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