Child care

UN: 4.9M Children Under Five Died in 2024

Is malnutrition the true driver of child mortality or does lack of vaccination pose a greater threat to children's health?

Published MAR 18

UN: 4.9M Children Under Five Died in 2024

Story

Above: A Somali child in a ward of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) NGO in Dadaab, Kenya, on July 22, 2011. Image credit: Phil Moore/AFP/Getty Images

The Facts

An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, according to a report by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank and the U.N. population division released Wednesday. Most of these deaths were preventable with low-cost interventions and access to quality health care.
WHO
8am.media
Newborns accounted for nearly half of all under-five deaths in 2024, with complications from preterm birth making up 36% of newborn deaths and complications during labor and delivery accounting for 21%. Beyond the first month, malaria, pneumonia and diarrhea remained major killers.
Health And Me
Yeni Safak
For the first time, the report provided estimates for deaths directly caused by severe acute malnutrition, finding more than 100,000 children aged 1-59 months died from it in 2024. Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan recorded some of the highest numbers of such deaths.
Unicef
Guardian
Anadolu Agency
Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 58% of all under-five deaths in 2024, while Southern Asia represented 25%. Children in fragile and conflict-affected settings were nearly three times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than those elsewhere.
UN News
The Jerusalem Post
An estimated 2.1 million children, adolescents and young people aged 5-24 died in 2024. Self-harm was the leading cause of death among girls aged 15-19, while road traffic injuries were the leading cause among boys in that age group.
WHO
Anadolu Agency
Per the U.N., the pace of reduction in under-five child mortality has slowed by about 60% since 2015. This comes as, according to a Gates Foundation report, global health development assistance fell by just under 27% in 2025 compared to 2024.
Unicef
Guardian
The Jerusalem Post

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Vaccines are the single most powerful tool for keeping children alive, and gutting funding for them is a death sentence for millions of kids. Since 1974, immunization has saved 154 million lives — 95% of them children under five — and every dollar invested returns $54 in health and economic benefits. Letting vaccine coverage collapse means preventable diseases roar back, erasing decades of hard-won progress.

Unicef

Narrative B

Malnutrition, not a lack of immunization, is the silent killer driving child mortality, and the world keeps ignoring it. A staggering 56% of under-5 deaths are attributable to malnutrition's potentiating effects on infectious disease, yet health strategies keep focusing only on severe cases. Mild-to-moderate malnutrition accounts for 83% of those deaths — fixing that gap would save the most lives.

BMJ