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The number of children dying globally before their fifth birthday declined to 4.8 million in 2023, while stillbirths declined modestly, still remaining around 1.9 million, according to two new reports released today by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME).

Since 2000, child deaths have dropped by more than half and stillbirths by over a third, fuelled by sustained investments in child survival worldwide. In 2022, the world reached a historic milestone when child deaths dropped slightly below 5 million for the first time. However, progress has slowed and too many children are still being lost to preventable causes.

"Millions of children are alive today because of the global commitment to proven interventions, such as vaccines, nutrition, and access to safe water and basic sanitation,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. “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, with millions more children dying from preventable causes. We cannot allow that to happen.”

Decades of progress in child survival are now at risk as major donors have announced or indicated significant funding cuts to aid ahead. Reduced global funding for life-saving child survival programmes is causing health-care worker shortages, clinic closures, vaccination programme disruptions, and a lack of essential supplies, such as malaria treatments. These cuts are severely impacting regions in humanitarian crises, debt-stricken countries, and areas with already high child mortality rates. Global funding cuts could also undermine monitoring and tracking efforts, making it harder to reach the most vulnerable children, the Inter-agency Group warned.

“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, Director-General of the World Health Organization. “In the face of global funding cuts, there is a need more than ever to step up collaboration to protect and improve children’s health.”

Even before the current funding crisis, the pace of progress on child survival had already slowed. Since 2015, the annual rate of reduction of under-five mortality has slowed by 42%, and stillbirth reduction has slowed by 53%, compared to 2000–2015.

Almost half of under-five deaths happen within the first month of life, mostly due to premature birth and complications during labour. Beyond the newborn period, infectious diseases, including acute respiratory infections such as pneumonia, malaria, and diarrhoea, are the leading causes of preventable child death. Meanwhile, 45% of late stillbirths occur during labour, often due to maternal infections, prolonged or obstructed labour, and lack of timely medical intervention.

Better access to quality maternal, newborn, and child health care at all levels of the health system will save many more lives, according to the reports. This includes promotive and preventive care in communities, timely visits to health facilities and health professionals at birth, high-quality antenatal and postnatal care, well-child preventive care such as routine vaccinations and comprehensive nutrition programmes, diagnosis and treatment for common childhood illnesses, and specialized care for small and sick newborns.

“Most preventable child deaths occur in low-income countries, where essential services, vaccines, and treatments are often inaccessible”, said Juan Pablo Uribe, World Bank Global Director for Health and Director of the Global Financing Facility. “Investing in children's health ensures their survival, education, and future contributions to the workforce. With strategic investments and strong political will, we can continue to reduce child mortality, unlocking economic growth and employment opportunities that benefit the entire world.”

The reports also show that where a child is born greatly influences their chances of survival. The risk of death before age five is 80 times higher in the highest-mortality country than the lowest-mortality country, for example, while a child born in sub-Saharan Africa is on average 18 times more likely to die before turning five than one born in Australia and New Zealand. Within countries, the poorest children, those living in rural areas, and those with less-educated mothers face the higher risks.

Stillbirth disparities are just as severe, with nearly 80% occurring in sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia, where women are six to eight times more likely to experience a stillbirth than women in Europe or North America. Meanwhile, women in low-income countries are eight times more likely to experience a stillbirth than those in high-income countries.

“Disparities in child mortality across and within nations remain one of the greatest challenges of our time,” said the UN DESA Under-Secretary-General, Li Junhua. “Reducing such differences is not just a moral imperative but also a fundamental step towards sustainable development and global equity. Every child deserves a fair chance at life, and it is our collective responsibility to ensure that no child is left behind.”

UN IGME members call on governments, donors, and partners across the private and public sectors to protect the hard-won gains in saving children’s lives and accelerate efforts. Increased investments, service integration, and innovations are urgently needed to scale up access to proven life-saving health, nutrition, and social protection services for children and pregnant mothers.    

Notes to editors

Download multimedia content here.

The UN IGME child mortality report

The UN IGME stillbirth report

The two reports – Levels & Trends in Child Mortality and Counting Every Stillbirth – are the first of a series of important global data sets released in 2025. UN maternal mortality figures will be published in the coming weeks.

About UN IGME

The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation or UN IGME was formed in 2004 to share data on child mortality, improve methods for child mortality estimation, report on progress towards child survival goals and enhance the capacity of countries to produce timely and properly evaluated estimates of child mortality. UN IGME is led by UNICEF and includes the World Health Organization, the World Bank Group and the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.

 For more information: http://www.childmortality.org/

 

Throughout 2023, ECDC and its partner countries collaborated to strengthen the regional workforce as part of the EU Initiative on Health Security. The goal was to enhance capacities for addressing communicable diseases in both EU enlargement countries and those participating in the EU Neighbourhood Policy (ENP).

World Tuberculosis Day, marked each year on 24 March, is an occasion to raise awareness and advocate for efforts to eliminate TB.

Veronica Cristea, Scientific Officer at ECDC, discusses the overall TB situation in the EU/EEA, the impact of COVID-19, challenges in treatment success, and the concerning rise in TB cases among children.

In 2015, at 19 years old, Frida, from Norway, returned from a three-month backpacking trip feeling unwell. Initially misdiagnosed with pneumonia, it was only after mentioning her travels that she was tested for tuberculosis (TB).

The 2025 Tuberculosis surveillance and monitoring report shows that children under 15 years of age accounted for 4.3% of those with new and relapsed tuberculosis (TB) in the WHO European Region, representing a worrying 10% surge in paediatric TB for 2023.

On the occasion on World Tuberculosis (TB) Day, marked on 24 March, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for an urgent investment of resources to protect and maintain tuberculosis (TB) care and support services for people in need across regions and countries. TB remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, responsible for over 1 million people annually bringing devastating impacts on families and communities.

Global efforts to combat TB have saved an estimated 79 million lives since 2000. However, the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding happening now are threatening to reverse these gains. Rising drug resistance especially across Europe and the ongoing conflicts across the Middle-East, Africa and Eastern Europe, are further exacerbating the situation for the most vulnerable.

 Under the theme Yes! We Can End TB: Commit, Invest, Deliver, World Tuberculosis Day 2025 campaign highlights a rallying cry for urgency, and accountability and hope. “The huge gains the world has made against TB over the past 20 years are now at risk as cuts to funding start to disrupt access to services for prevention, screening, and treatment for people with TB,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “But we cannot give up on the concrete commitments that world leaders made at the UN General Assembly just 18 months ago to accelerate work to end TB. WHO is committed to working with all donors, partners and affected countries to mitigate the impact of funding cuts and find innovative solutions.”

Funding: threat to global TB efforts

Early reports to WHO reveal that severe disruptions in the TB response are seen across several of the highest-burden countries following the funding cuts. Countries in the WHO African Region are experiencing the greatest impact, followed by countries in the WHO South-East Asian and Western Pacific Regions. Twenty seven countries are facing crippling breakdowns in their TB response, with devastating consequences, such as:

Human resource shortages undermining service delivery;

Diagnostic services severely disrupted, delaying detection and treatment;

Data and surveillance systems collapsing, compromising disease tracking and management;

Community engagement efforts, including active case finding, screening, and contact tracing, deteriorating, leading to delayed diagnoses and increased transmission risks.

Nine countries report failing TB drug procurement and supply chains, jeopardizing treatment continuity and patient outcomes.

The 2025 funding cuts further exacerbate an already existing underfunding for global TB response. In 2023, only 26% of the US$22 billion annually needed for TB prevention and care was available, leaving a massive shortfall. TB research is in crisis, receiving just one-fifth of the US$5 billion annual target in 2022—severely delaying advancements in diagnostics, treatments, and vaccines. WHO is leading efforts to accelerate TB vaccine development through the TB Vaccine Accelerator Council, but progress remains at risk without urgent financial commitments.

Joint statement with civil society

In response to the urgent challenges threatening TB services worldwide, WHO’s Director-General and Civil Society Task Force on Tuberculosis have issued a decisive statement. The joint statement released this week, demands immediate, coordinated efforts from governments, global health leaders, donors, and policymakers to prevent further disruptions. The statement outlines five critical priorities:

Addressing TB service disruptions urgently, ensuring responses match the crisis's scale;

Securing sustainable domestic funding, guaranteeing uninterrupted and equitable access to TB prevention and care;

Safeguarding essential TB services, including access to life-saving drugs, diagnostics, treatment and social protections, alongside cross-sector collaboration;

Establishing or revitalizing national collaboration platforms, fostering alliances among civil society, NGOs, donors, and professional societies to tackle challenges;

Enhancing monitoring and early warning systems to assess real-time impact and detect disruptions early.

“This urgent call is timely and underscores the necessity of swift, decisive action to sustain global TB progress and prevent setbacks that could cost lives,” said Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global Programme on TB and Lung Health. “Investing in ending TB is not only a moral imperative but also an economic necessity—every dollar spent on prevention and treatment yields an estimated US$43 in economic returns.”

New guidance on TB and lung health

As one of the solutions to combating growing resource constraints, WHO is driving the integration of TB and lung health within primary healthcare as a sustainable solution. New technical guidance released by WHO outlines critical actions across the care continuum, focusing on prevention, early detection of TB and comorbidities, optimized management at first contact and improved patient follow-up. The guidance also promotes better use of existing health systems, addressing shared risk factors such as overcrowding, tobacco, undernutrition and environmental pollutants.

By tackling TB determinants alongside communicable and non-communicable diseases, lung conditions, and disabilities through a unified strategy, WHO aims to reinforce the global response and drive lasting improvements in health outcomes.

On World TB Day, WHO calls on everyone: individuals, communities, societies, donors and governments, to do their part to end TB. Without concerted action from all stakeholders, the TB response will be decimated, reversing decades of progress, putting millions of lives at risk and threatening health security.

Today, during the annual Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit in Paris, three cities were recognized for their achievements in preventing noncommunicable diseases and injuries: Córdoba, Argentina; Fortaleza, Brazil; and Greater Manchester, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Summit, co-hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the World Health Organization (WHO), Vital Strategies, and the City of Paris, convened mayors and officials from 61 cities in the Partnership for Healthy Cities network to address pressing public health issues and share effective strategies for saving lives and building healthier communities at the local level.

“Noncommunicable diseases, including heart disease, cancer, and diabetes, and injuries are responsible for more than 80% of all deaths globally, but the good news is, they are preventable,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg L.P. and Bloomberg Philanthropies, WHO Global Ambassador for Noncommunicable Diseases and Injuries, and 108th mayor of New York City. “Cities are leading the way in implementing policies that are protecting public health and saving lives. This year’s winning cities are proving that progress is possible with strong leadership and political will, and we look forward to seeing the results of their efforts.”

The recipients of the 2025 Partnership for Healthy Cities Awards were chosen because they have made demonstrable progress in preventing noncommunicable diseases and injuries, setting an example that can be replicated in other jurisdictions.

All three winning cities are part of the Partnership’s Policy Accelerator, which provides training and support for drafting policies and establishing the political strategies needed to develop and enact them. These cities are working with the Partnership to improve public health in the following ways:

• Córdoba, Argentina, passed a new policy committing the city to promoting healthy school food environments by eliminating sugary and artificially sweetened beverages and ultra-processed products from all schools by 2026. The program has benefited 26 schools to date, reaching 15 000 of the city’s 138 000 primary school children.
  
• Fortaleza, Brazil, established the city's first legal framework for air quality surveillance. The 2023 decree guarantees the local monitoring of air pollutants to estimate their impact on residents’ health, along with the installation of low-cost sensors to improve data collection. Reliable data will help inform city policies that can significantly reduce air pollution.
  
• Greater Manchester, United Kingdom, expanded the number of outdoor smoke-free areas as part of efforts to reduce smoking, including opening its first smoke-free park, covering 6.5 acres of public space. Greater Manchester also conducted a series of community consultations and workshops with residents to help with decision-making; launched a smoke-free toolkit and communication guidance for National Health Service (NHS) hospitals and sites; and is scaling this initiative by developing a broader smoke-free spaces toolkit for other organizations and groups that want to create smoke-free spaces.

“Cities are at the forefront of the fight against noncommunicable diseases and injuries. The progress made in Córdoba, Fortaleza, and Greater Manchester is not only improving health today but also setting a model for others to follow," said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "WHO is committed to working with cities to build healthier, safer and more resilient communities for all.”

“Local leadership has emerged as a powerful force for addressing the complex challenges presented by noncommunicable diseases and injuries,” said Dr Mary-Ann Etiebet, President and CEO, Vital Strategies. “We applaud the work of city leaders around the globe in their efforts to create healthier, safer environments for their populations. Their efforts are having a significant impact on people’s lives and well-being, while also demonstrating to national governments that there is significant support for these policy solutions.”

Launched in 2017, the Partnership for Healthy Cities is a global network of 74 cities working to prevent noncommunicable diseases and injuries. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, in partnership with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies, this initiative empowers cities worldwide to implement high-impact policy or programmatic interventions to reduce noncommunicable diseases and injuries in their communities. Through this network, city leaders are enacting transformative measures to improve the health of 300 million people across the globe.

The mayors participating in the Partnership for Healthy Cities Summit include:

• Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán, Bogotá, Colombia
• Municipal Commissioner Palitha Nanayakkara, Colombo, Sri Lanka 
• Intendant Daniel Passerini, Córdoba, Argentina
• Honorable Administrator Mohammad Azaz, Dhaka, Bangladesh
• Municipal President Verónica Delgadillo, Guadalajara, Mexico
• Mayor Juhana Vartiainen, Helsinki, Finland
• Mayor Erias Lukwago, Kampala, Uganda
• Mayor Chilando Chitangala, Lusaka, Zambia
• Intendant Mauricio Zunino, Montevideo, Uruguay
• Mayor Anne Hidalgo, Paris, France
• Mayor Pabel Muñoz López, Quito, Ecuador
• Governor Claudio Benjamín Orrego Larraín, Santiago, Chile.

About Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies invests in 700 cities and 150 countries around the world to ensure better, longer lives for the greatest number of people. The organization focuses on creating lasting change in five key areas: the arts, education, environment, government innovation, and public health. Bloomberg Philanthropies encompasses all of Michael R. Bloomberg’s giving, including his foundation, corporate, and personal philanthropy as well as Bloomberg Associates, a philanthropic consultancy that advises cities around the world. In 2024, Bloomberg Philanthropies distributed US$ 3.7 billion. For more information, please visit bloomberg.org, sign up for ournewsletter, or follow us onInstagram,LinkedIn,YouTube,Threads,Facebook, and X.

About the World Health Organization
Dedicated to the well-being of all people and guided by science, the World Health Organization leads and champions global efforts to give everyone, everywhere an equal chance at a safe and healthy life. We are the UN agency for health that connects nations, partners and people on the front lines in 150+ locations – leading the world’s response to health emergencies, preventing disease, addressing the root causes of health issues and expanding access to medicines and health care. Our mission is to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable. For more information, visit www.who.int and follow WHO on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Pinterest, YouTube.

About Vital Strategies

Vital Strategies believes every person should be protected by an equitable and effective public health system. We partner with governments, communities and organizations around the world to reimagine public health so that health is supported in all the places we live, work and play. The result is millions of people living longer, healthier lives. To find out more, please visit www.vitalstrategies.org or follow us on LinkedIn.

 

Media Contacts

Veronica Lewin, Bloomberg Philanthropies, veronical@bloomberg.org

Erin Pallotta, Allison Worldwide, bloomberghealth@allisonworldwide.com

Jaimie Guerra, World Health Organization, guerraja@who.int

Christina Honeysett, Vital Strategies, choneysett@vitalstrategies.org

 

With funding from the Africa CDC – ECDC Partnership, Imen Haddad recently participated in an ECDC workshop on infodemic management organised under the EU Initiative on Health Security.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is closely monitoring the situation following the tragic fire at the Pulse nightclub in Kočani, North Macedonia. Many patients with burn injuries are being transferred to hospitals across EU Member States and neighbouring countries for urgent medical care.

ECDC and Africa CDC are responsible for protecting almost 2 billion people from infectious diseases.

Concurring with the advice unanimously expressed by the Committee during the meeting, the WHO Director-General determined that the upsurge of mpox 2024 continues to meet the criteria of a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

In an unprecedented show of unity, more than 47 million health professionals, patients, advocates, representatives from civil society organizations, and individuals worldwide have signed a resounding call for urgent action to reduce air pollution and to protect people’s health from its devastating impacts.

Following recommendations by the World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) has decided to place five new psychoactive substances and one medicine under international control.

The recommendations were developed by WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence--ECDD, which consists of global experts analyzing health risks and benefits of psychoactive substances circulating on global markets and alerting to include them under international control if evidence found that their use can cause harm for population health in countries.

“These substances have been brought to WHO’s attention for being clandestinely manufactured, posing serious risk to public health and society without any recognized therapeutic use,” said Dr Deus Mubangizi, WHO Director for Health Product Policy and Standards. “We are pleased that the Commission (on Narcotic Drugs) has accepted the full set of WHO recommendations and added these substances to relevant schedules in the 1961 or 1971 Conventions. We hope countries and communities will increase vigilance and take necessary actions to protect vulnerable groups particularly youth from these substances.”

Four substances placed in Schedule I of the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs (1961), as amended by the 1972 Protocol are:

N-Pyrrolidino protonitazene, also referred to as protonitazepyne, is a synthetic opioid.  It has been described as a beige powder or a white colourless or crystalline solid, and has been identified in falsified pharmaceutical opioid tablets. It is reported to be administered by various routes, including smoking, snorting and by injection. It can cause substantial harm, including death. It has no known therapeutic use.

N-Pyrrolidino metonitazene, also referred to as metonitazepyne, is a synthetic opioid. It has been described as a beige powder and is reported to be administered by injection. There is evidence that its use causes substantial harm, including death. It has no known therapeutic use.

Etonitazepipne, also referred to as N-piperidinyl etonitazene, is a synthetic opioid.  It has been described as a crystalline solid and a yellowish-white or yellow powder. There is evidence that use of this substance causes substantial harm, including death. It has no known therapeutic use.

N-Desethyl isotonitazene, also referred to as norisotonitazene, is a synthetic opioid that has been described as a crystalline solid. It has been identified in falsified pharmaceuticals. Multiple deaths and hospital admissions have been reported in at least two regions. There is evidence that its use causes substantial harm, including death. It has no known therapeutic use.

Substance placed in Schedule II of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971):

Hexahydrocannabinol, also known as HHC, is a semi-synthetic cannabinoid described as a colourless viscous oil or resin. Products such as THC cannabis flowers and resins infused or sprayed with the substance, e-liquids and cartridges for electronic cigarettes, edible products such as gummies and marshmallows, tinctures resembling dietary supplements and distillate oils can include HHC. There is sufficient evidence that HHC is used in ways to constitute a public health and social problem, warranting placement under international control.

Substance placed in Schedule IV of the Convention on Psychotropic Substances (1971):

Carisoprodol is a centrally acting skeletal muscle relaxant sold as a single-ingredient preparation and in combination products. Carisoprodol is available as a pharmaceutical product in tablet form, has been detected in falsified pharmaceuticals and is also found as a white powder. There is increasing evidence that nonmedical use of carisoprodol in a number of countries constitutes a significant risk to public health.

WHO has been convening the ECDD as a scientific advisory body for over 70 years with the mission to protect populations from harmful substances and to ensure that psychoactive substances are available where needed for medical and scientific purposes. The ECDD conducts scientific reviews at the request of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs and is the only treaty-mandated body to provide health recommendations to the Commission to inform decisions in drug policy.

With the ongoing emergence of more harmful substances, including clandestinely manufactured synthetic opioids with no medical use such as fentanyl and nitazenes, Member States expressed interest in more scientific reviews of these substances by WHO in the coming period. Above-mentioned decisions were announced at the 68th regular session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, taking place in Vienna, Austria, on 10-14 March 2025. 

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published findings from its 2024 survey assessing public health workforce capacity in infectious disease prevention and control across European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries.

From 5 to 7 March 2025, a technical team from ECDC visited Kosovo to discuss the country’s communicable disease surveillance system.

Data on measles cases in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA) for the last twelve months show a considerable rise in notifications compared to 2023.

In a three-day strategic dialogue, Belgium and WHO reviewed progress in their longstanding partnership, and agreed to further boost their collaboration on universal health coverage, health-systems strengthening and equitable access to essential vaccines, medicines and health technologies. The Belgian delegation – headed by H.E. Christophe Payot, Ambassador of Belgium to the United Nations and other international organizations in Geneva – discussed issues of strategic importance, exchanged views on how to smoothly align WHO strategic directions and Belgium's development cooperation priorities in the context of an evolving global health landscape.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is preparing for an impactful year in 2025, delivering training sessions, capacity-building initiatives, and enhancing collaboration with European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) partner countries under the EU Initiative on Health Security.

WHO and Switzerland have announced the renewal of their cooperation strategy for the period 2024-2028. In 2013, Switzerland became the first high-income country in the WHO European Region to pilot a cooperation strategy with WHO (hereafter referred to as the WHO-Switzerland Cooperation Strategy). In 2022, WHO and Switzerland jointly decided to update and renew this cooperation strategy, done on 4 March 2025 at the Regional Office of the WHO in Copenhagen, Denmark.