Cuts to international aid could undo decades of progress in reducing child mortality, potentially reversing the positive trend, the United Nations warned Monday.
A new report from UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Bank does not directly name the United States, but it comes amid significant reductions in programs by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Washington’s main overseas aid agency.
USAID’s previous annual budget of $42.8 billion has seen substantial cuts under the Trump administration.
“The global health community cannot be worried enough about the situation we are seeing,” said Fouzia Shafique, UNICEF’s associate director of health.
The report highlights that the cuts to aid will have the worst consequences in countries with the highest infant mortality rates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
“Simply put, if support for life-saving services is not sustained, many countries can expect a resurgence of newborn and child deaths,” the report stated.
In 2023, the global mortality rate for children under age five continued to fall, with 4.8 million deaths recorded, including 2.3 million newborns who died within a month of birth.
This marks a significant achievement as the number of child deaths fell below 5 million for the first time in 2022, showing a 52% decrease since 2000.
However, Shafique emphasized that “4.8 million is 4.8 million too many.”
Since 2015, progress in reducing child mortality has slowed, with aid funding redirected to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The report suggests this could signal the beginning of a troubling trend.
“Bringing preventable child deaths to a record low is a remarkable achievement. But without the right policy choices and adequate investment, we risk reversing these hard-earned gains,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
“We cannot allow that to happen,” she added.
The cuts to funding are already being felt, with shortages of health care workers, clinic closures, disruptions in vaccination programs and shortages of essential supplies, such as malaria treatments.
In Ethiopia, for instance, there has been a sharp rise in malaria cases, compounded by a severe shortage of diagnostic tests, insecticide-treated nets for bed nets and funds for spraying campaigns to control disease-carrying mosquitoes.
A separate report from the same organization also reveals a persistently high number of stillbirths – babies who die after 28 weeks of pregnancy, before or during birth – with about 1.9 million stillbirths recorded in 2023.
“Every day, more than 5,000 women around the world endure the heartbreaking experience of stillbirth,” the report noted.
Many of these deaths could be prevented with proper prenatal care and attention during childbirth, as could premature births. The report also stresses that deaths from preventable diseases like pneumonia and diarrhea can largely be avoided.
“From tackling malaria to preventing stillbirths and ensuring evidence-based care for the tiniest babies, we can make a difference for millions of families,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO’s director-general.
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