THE findings of the UN 2024 report, Levels and Trends in Child Mortality released in the last week of March by the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation, that more than 100,000 children die before they reach five every year in Bangladesh are worrying. What is further worrying is that nearly two-thirds of the casualties take place within the first 28 days of life, suggesting that Bangladesh is faced with significant challenges in newborn care. The report calls for enhanced maternal and newborn care to save an additional 28,000 newborns each year to meet Sustainable Development Goals Target 3.2, which envisages an end to preventable death of children under five years of age by 2030. The World Health Organisation insists that governments can and should do more to reduce the under-5 mortality rate, which is considered a key measure of a nation’s care for its most vulnerable citizens, young children and infants. The report notes that about 170 million children died before reaching their fifth birthday the world over between 2000 and 2013 and says that it was nearly the entire population of Bangladesh, the eighth-largest country by population size.

It is said that the death of such a huge number of newborns takes place every year in Bangladesh because of preventable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, infections and a violation of their basic right to survive and thrive. The top preventable reasons for under-5 mortality are premature birth, pneumonia, birth defects, newborn infections such as sepsis, birth complications and diarrhoea. The World Health Organisation says that malnutrition is an underlying cause of about a half of such death, warranting that governments should shore up issues of proper nutrition, which is foundational to helping to prevent many deaths. The World Health Organisation also talks of interventions that can reduce child mortality. The areas include immediate and exclusive breastfeeding, skilled attendants for antenatal, birth and postnatal care, access to nutrition and micronutrients, family knowledge of danger signs in children’s health, improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene, and immunisation. What is important in saving the children and mothers is a strong health system, built with enough investment, that would have primary health care as a priority agenda and an increase in the number of trained health professionals. The report also says that a high number of home deliveries, limited access to newborn care and the absence of midwives close to homes for normal delivery are the challenges that are at the heart of high newborn mortality.

The government should, therefore, have steps against child mortality in its priority focus to improve on the situation.