7 October 2013 – Prematurity and pneumonia were the top leading causes of death in children under the age of 5 years in the Eastern Mediterranean Region in 2011, based on the WHO Global Health Observatory.
Prematurity contributed to 19% of all under-5 deaths and pneumonia 18%. Prematurity was also the leading cause of death in neonates.
Infections, including pneumonia (18%), diarrhoeal diseases (10%), infections in the newborn (6%), measles (3%) and malaria (1%) as a group remained a major cause of death in children, responsible for 38% of all deaths.
Every day, 690 children under-5 in the Region lose their lives because of pneumonia and diarrhoea. Most of these deaths occur after the neonatal period. Integrated strategies such as the Integrated management of child health (IMCI) and cost-effective interventions to prevent these deaths exist, but their level of coverage remains low in countries with high under-5 mortality in the Region.
Most deaths from preterm complications can also be prevented with feasible, evidence-based cost-effective interventions across the continuum of care, even without the availability of neonatal intensive care and sophisticated technology.
Links
GAPPD and IMCI: integrated approaches to saving the lives of children
Born too soon: the global action report on preterm birth
Half a million more children’s lives saved in 2012 in the Region
Receive our email alerts
IMCI pre-service education: guide to evaluation