NEWS RELEASE!  

Will my child make it to her/his fifth Birthday?

This is the uncertainty facing 10 million mothers around the world, one- fifth of whom are in India. More than 200 million children (around the world) under age 5 do not get basic health care when they need it, with the poorest and most marginlised children missing out and most at risk of dying, according to the 9th annual State of the World's Mothers report issued today by Save the Children.

The report includes the first-ever Basic Health Care Report Card of 55 developing countries that shows which countries are doing the best and the worst at reaching children with basic health care. Together these countries account for nearly 60 percent of the world's under-5 population and 83 percent of all child deaths worldwide.

The report also points to widening health care inequalities effecting child survival rates. It looks at 52 countries comparing children who are better off and those who are very poor. Within countries, poor children are dying in much greater numbers than the best-off children. In 12 of the 55 countries, the poorest children are 3 or more times more likely to die than the richest children. These countries include Azerbaijan, Brazil, Bolivia, Cambodia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and the Philippines. In India 53% of under 5 year olds do not have any access to basic health care.

"Child survival is one of the most pressing moral challenges of our time" says, Save the Children's Head of Policy and Advocacy, Shireen Vakil Miller : "A child's chance of making it to its fifth birthday depends on the state or community it is born into. This sounds like a lottery, something beyond human control, but this should not be the case. While poverty and inequality are consistent underlying causes of child deaths, all states, even the poorest, can cut child mortality if they pursue the right policies and prioritise their poorest, and most marginalised families ".

Among the report's key findings:

• More than 200 million children under age 5 lack basic health care. Among the 55 countries evaluated in the Basic Health Care Report Card, the Philippines, Peru, South Africa and Indonesia/Turkmenistan (tied) are doing the best job in getting basic health care to all children under age 5. Countries doing the worst are Lao People's Democratic Republic, Yemen, Chad, Somalia and Ethiopia.
• Nearly all under 5 deaths (99%) occur in developing countries. Within countries the poorest children are least likely to get lifesaving health care and are more likely to die. In India and Indonesia, the poorest children are three or more times more likely to die before reaching their fifth birthday than best-off children. In Asia large disparities are seen for example Philippines ranks first and India ranks 29th on the report card.
• Closing health care coverage gaps could save more than 6 million children each year. If all children - rich and poor alike - were to receive a full package of essential health care, more than 6 million lives would be saved each year. Closing the survival gaps in India and Nigeria alone would prevent nearly 20 percent of global child deaths.
• In more developed countries, children most lacking in basic health care and at risk of dying tend to be from low-income, ethnic minority groups. In the United States, America-Indian and Alaska-Native infants are nearly 50 percent more likely to die than white infants, and African American infants are 2.4 times more likely to die than white infants.
• The biggest killers of children worldwide are newborn complications, pneumonia, diarrhea and malaria.
• Using existing low cost tools and knowledge we could save more than 6 million of the 9.7 million children who die every year from easily preventable or treatable diseases.

In addition to its special focus on the child survival gap, the report includes Save the Children's ninth annual Mothers' Index, which identifies the best and worst countries to be a mother and child by looking at child and maternal well-being in 146 countries. Sweden takes top place, while Niger takes last place in the ranking. The United States places 27th.

Recommendations:

To reach more children under age 5 with basic health care measures and save lives, Save the Children recommends that countries:

• Design health care programs to better target the poorest and most marginalized mothers and children. To save lives, we need to close the coverage gap for all children, but especially the gap between the rich and poor.
• Invest in community health workers to reach the poorest of the poor with essential life-saving care. Many children die from causes that do not require doctors or hospitals, and could be saved by training, equipping and deploying more community health workers who can deliver this basic health care.
• Deliver a basic package of maternal, newborn and child health care that takes into account the realities for poor people in developing countries. The tools to save mothers' and children's lives work best when they are delivered together as a package and along a "continuum of care" that links communities, local health facilities and hospitals. Most health systems devote significant resources to hospital-based care, but most sick children in developing countries never make it to a hospital.

For more information, please contact Anuradha C. Maharishi, Media and Communications Manager, Save the Children on + 91 9811626122 or a.maharishi@savethechildren.in

Mike Kiernan                                                     Eileen Burke
Cell: 202-460-0614                                         Cell: 203-216-0718
Office: 202-640-6630                                      Office: 203-221-4233
mkiernan@savechildren.org                         eburke@savechildren.org

Spokesperson:
1. Shireen Vakil Miller, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Delhi, - 9811552920

Notes to the Editor

• Save the Children, Bal Raksha Bharat is a leading Indian child rights agency and a member of the International Save the Children Alliance, the world's largest independent organisation for children, making a difference to children's lives in over 120 countries Save the children fights for children's rights, deliver immediate and lasting improvements to children's lives worldwide. 
• Save the Children is the world's largest independent organisation for children, making a difference to children's lives in over 120 countries. From emergency relief to long-term development, Save the Children helps children to achieve a happy, healthy and secure childhood. Save the Children listens to children, involves children and ensures their views are taken into account. Save the Children secures and protects children's rights - to food, shelter, health care, education and freedom from violence, abuse and exploitation.
• In India, we have been working for over three decades, addressing children's issues through child centered, rights based approach, and facilitating the call for recognizing children as citizens and for realizing their rights We work in the following sectors Education, Child Protection, Health and HIV/AIDS.

Please visit our website www.savethechildren.in  or www.savethechildren.org