As the seven billionth baby is born, 20,000 other children will die today

On the day the seven billionth baby is born, more than 20,000 children will die, mostly from easily preventable diseases like diarrhoea or pneumonia.

In India alone, nearly 5,000 under fives will die today. Worried for their children’s survival, many Indian parents will choose to have large families.

In Chad, one of the world’s poorest countries, a mother will give birth to an average of six children in her lifetime. This was once also true for Botswana, but after long-term investment in healthcare, child mortality has reduced and the average mother in Botswana now has just three children. In New Zealand, the average is two.

But a growing world population is even more reason to stay focused on reducing child mortality says CEO of Save the Children Liz Gibbs.

“Not only is stopping children dying a moral imperative, investing in improvements that help save children’s lives, in addition to family planning and women’s education in the poorest countries, is what will help slow population growth. Parents will feel more confident that most of their children will survive and have smaller families as a result,” she says.

Globally, 7.5 million children still die before reaching their 5th birthday every year. Most will have lived their short lives facing a daily struggle for survival. But progress is being made. The seven billionth baby is more likely to reach the age of five than at any point in history. In 1987, when the five billionth baby was born, 1 in 9 children never reached five years old. Today that figure is 1 in 16.

ENDS

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