Lack of health care kills 10 million children annually: US charity

More than 200 million children worldwide under age 5 do not get basic health care, leading to 10 million deaths.

More than 200 million children worldwide under age 5 do not get basic health care, leading to nearly 10 million deaths annually from treatable ailments like diarrhoea and pneumonia, a US-based charity said on Tuesday.

Nearly all of the deaths occur in the developing world, with poor children facing twice the risk of dying compared to richer children, according to Save the Children’s global report.

Sweden, Norway and Iceland top the ranking in terms of well-being for mothers and children in 146 countries surveyed, while Nigeria ranks last.

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Eight out of 10 bottom-ranked countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, where four out of five mothers are likely to lose a child in their lifetime, Save the Children said.

The bright spots among 55 developing countries are the Philippines, Peru and South Africa — all surveyed for the first time. Indonesia and Turkmenistan tied for fourth.

Laos, Yemen, Chad, Somalia and Ethiopia were found doing the worst among developing countries, the report said.

Through a number of health initiatives, including access to oral rehydration to treat diarrhoea, the Philippines has nearly cut its child death rate in half since 1990, said David Oot, Save the Children’s associate vice president.

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Today, more than 75 per cent of Filipino children with diarrhoea receive rehydration therapy, compared with 15 per cent of Ethiopian children, he said.

Wide disparities in health care for the poorest and best-off children are seen even in the highest-ranked countries. In Latin America, Brazil, Bolivia and Peru have some of the world’s widest survival gaps between rich and poor children. In Asia, large disparities also exist in India and Indonesia, the report said.