GATES FOUNDATION: CHILD MORTALITY RISING AGAIN

Sun 07 December 2025:

Global child mortality is likely to rise to 4.8 million this year from 4.6 million in 2024 after declining since the start of the millennium, a research team commissioned by the Gates Foundation predicted in a study released on Thursday.

The figure refers to children dying between birth and their fifth birthday. The foundation, which is a major health and development donor, supports programmes to combat HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and promotes vaccination campaigns in poor countries.

The study found that global aid to the health sector had fallen this year by 26.9% compared with last year. It said that many countries were burdened by high debt and fragile health systems, with the result that progress made in fighting disease was likely to be lost and millions more children could die over the years ahead.

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In the report, Gates stressed that great progress was possible, despite declining budgets, if the funds were used in a targeted way. He pointed to basic health provision, the expansion and improvement of standard vaccinations and the use of data to implement measures such as malaria prevention where it was needed most.

“The smartest investment now is primary health care,” the study notes. “And it’s remarkably cost-effective. For less than $100 per person per year, a robust primary health care system can prevent up to 90% of child deaths,” it adds.

Primary care helps mothers deliver safely, catches pneumonia in time, vaccinates children before outbreaks occur and spots threats before they became emergencies, according to the study.

-DPA

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