Ukraine among countries as UN warns of growing child death crisis
Preschool-aged children (Photo: Getty Images)
According to a report by the United Nations, the decline in child mortality worldwide has slowed, and in some places has even stalled. Ukraine was included in the list of countries with a troubling situation regarding child mortality, according to the UN press service.
Child mortality has been rising since 2015
According to an analysis published late Tuesday by UN agencies that assess child and adolescent mortality, in 2024, nearly 7 million people died before reaching the age of 25, including 4.9 million children under the age of five.
Analysts note that progress in reducing child mortality has become slow and uneven, with a significant slowdown beginning in 2015. This trend has been consistent across most regions of the world.
Ukraine is among countries with high mortality
Experts concluded that nearly three out of four deaths occurred in sub-Saharan Africa or South Asia.
It was also found that young people living in countries in fragile and conflict-affected situations are three times more likely to die before the age of five than those growing up in other countries.
Among the countries included in this category this year are Afghanistan, Haiti, Sudan, and Ukraine, as well as the West Bank and Gaza territories in the Middle East.
Overall, more boys die than girls, and mortality among males is also declining more slowly than among females, especially among young people.
It is also known that the mortality rate among men aged 20 to 24 has decreased by only 26%, while among women of the same age group, it has fallen by 43%.
The authors of the report note that further progress in reducing child mortality is impossible without renewed commitments, sustained investment, and targeted interventions.
Regarding Ukraine, a US intelligence report showed that the country has the lowest birth rate and the highest mortality rate in the world. Lithuania ranks second in terms of mortality.
It was also previously projected that Ukraine could lose about 10 million people as a result of the full-scale war with the aggressor country.
