Child death below 5 declined faster in India: UN

India has made significant progress in reducing child mortality, with deaths among children under five accounting for 18 per cent of all deaths in 2017, down from nearly 22 per cent in 2012, according to a new UN report.

The report said the number of under-five deaths in India fell below one million for the first time, reflecting a faster pace of improvement than the global trend.

India's under-five mortality rate stood at 39 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2017, matching the global rate for the first time. The figures indicate that India's child survival rate has improved considerably over the previous five years.

The gender gap in child survival has also narrowed substantially. The mortality rate among girls under five was around 2.5 per cent higher than that among boys in 2017, compared with a gap of nearly 10 per cent in 2012.

The report was jointly released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the UN Population Division and the World Bank Group.

Despite the progress, child mortality remains a major global concern. An estimated 6.3 million children under the age of 15 died in 2017, with 5.4 million of those deaths occurring before the age of five. Newborns accounted for around half of the under-five deaths.

Laurence Chandy, UNICEF Director of Data, Research and Policy, said millions of children could still die before 2030 without urgent action. He highlighted basic interventions such as access to medicines, clean water, electricity and vaccines as effective ways to prevent many child deaths.

The burden of child mortality remains particularly high in poorer regions. In 2017, around half of all deaths among children under five occurred in sub-Saharan Africa, while Southern Asia accounted for another 30 per cent.

The disparity between regions remains stark. In sub-Saharan Africa, about one in every 13 children died before reaching the age of five. In high-income countries, the figure was approximately one in 185.

Newborn survival is another major challenge. About 2.5 million babies died during their first month of life in 2017. A child born in sub-Saharan Africa or Southern Asia was nine times more likely to die during the first month than one born in a high-income country.

The UN said many of these deaths could be prevented or treated through timely and affordable healthcare. Major causes include complications during childbirth, pneumonia, diarrhoea, neonatal sepsis and malaria.

Social and economic conditions also have a strong bearing on survival. Children living in rural areas face, on average, a 50 per cent higher risk of dying before the age of five than those living in urban areas. Children born to mothers without formal education are more than twice as likely to die before their fifth birthday compared with those whose mothers have completed secondary education or higher.

The findings underline India's progress in improving child survival while also pointing to areas where further gains are needed, particularly newborn care, rural healthcare access, maternal education and the prevention of infectious diseases.