For first time in decades, child deaths will rise this year

One of the greatest public-health achievements of recent decades has been driving down child mortality around the world, Now, that long-running decline is reversing.

- Betsy Mckay & Caroline Kimeu

The number of deaths of children under 5 years old is projected to rise this year for the first time in decades, the Gates Foundation, the philanthropy chaired by billionaire Bill Gates that is a major funder of global health and development causes, said in a report Thursday.

About 243,000 more children under 5 years have died or will die this year than in 2024, according to the projections, which were made by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which measures global-health indicators and is funded in part by the Gates Foundation.

The deaths have risen primarily in African countries including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia and Uganda that have been plagued by conflict, mounting debt interest payments, fragile health systems and recent cuts in foreign health aid, according to Gates and health and development officials.

It will take years, Gates said in an interview, to get back on track. “I think we're going to have five very tough years where at best we'll be able to plateau the deaths,” he said.