Progress Seen On Reducing Child, Adolescent Mortality Worldwide But Inequality Grows Between Low-, High-Income Nations

CBS News: “Remarkable” progress against childhood deaths, but inequality grows
“Despite a dramatic decline in the number of deaths among children and adolescents worldwide in the past few decades, global progress remains uneven, according to new research. The study, published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics, found that childhood and adolescent deaths worldwide dropped by nearly half — from 14.2 million in 1990 to just over 7.2 million in 2015…” (Welch, 4/3).

NPR: Child Deaths Drop From 14.2 Million In 1990 To 7.3 Million In 2015
“…The children in poor countries who might have died as babies or toddlers a few years ago live long enough to suffer from the effects of birth defects or develop mental health problems or cancer. And increasingly, they live long enough to bear the burden of war and violence in their countries…” (Brink, 4/3).

Reuters Health: Progress uneven as global child death rates fall
“…Countries with low social and economic statuses shoulder a much larger child and adolescent mortality burden compared to countries with better income, education, and fertility levels, researchers found. ‘The relative difference between the best and the worst is growing,’ said Dr. Nicholas Kassebaum, of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington in Seattle. Kassebaum and dozens of other researchers in the Global Burden of Disease Child and Adolescent Health Collaboration analyzed data from 195 countries on children and adolescents up through age 19…” (Seaman, 4/3).

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