Nearly 5 million children under the age of five died in 2024, the UN reports.

Approximately 4.9 million children died before reaching the age of five in 2024, according to recent estimates by the United Nations, indicating a stagnation in progress in reducing child mortality.

The majority of deaths are preventable through better access to healthcare and affordable interventions for issues such as complications from premature birth or malaria. Although child deaths have decreased by over 50% since 2000, progress has slowed since 2015. In 2022, the figure was still 4.9 million, and in 2023 it was 4.8 million.

International agencies warn that conflicts, economic instability, climate change, and weak health systems contribute to the stagnation of progress.

Global budget cuts for international aid, announced by the United States and other donor countries, could reverse the gains made in child survival.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell emphasized that no child's life should be lost due to preventable diseases.