５歳未満児の死亡数、過去最少 ５００万人下回る 国連

【国連本部ＡＦＰ＝時事】世界で２０２２年に５歳未満で死亡した子どもは過去最少の４９０万人で、初めて５００万人を下回った。国連児童基金（ユニセフ）が１２日、世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）と世界銀行（Ｗｏｒｌｄ Ｂａｎｋ）と共同でまとめた報告書を発表した。（写真は資料写真）
　推計によると、２０２２年に死亡した５歳未満児は２０００年以降で５１％減、１９９０年以降では６２％減となった。マラウイ、ルワンダ、モンゴルなどの途上国では２０００年以降、７５％以上減少している。
　ユニセフのキャサリン・ラッセル事務局長は、こうした成果が導き出された背景として「安全な出産を支える助産師や医療従事者の存在、致命的な病気から子どもを守るワクチン接種、家庭訪問による支援活動」などを挙げた。
　一方で報告書は、こうした成果は「不安定」であり、「新生児・乳幼児の健康や生存を脅かすさまざまなリスクを無効化する取り組みを行っていかなければ、進歩は停滞、または後退する恐れがある」と指摘。
　世界レベルでは５歳未満児の死亡率の低下は鈍化しており、特にサハラ以南のアフリカ諸国で顕著だとしている。
　チャド、ナイジェリア、ソマリアなどで生まれた子どもの死亡率は、フィンランドや日本、シンガポールなどで生まれた子どもの８０倍にもなっている。
　ＷＨＯのテドロス・アダノム・ゲブレイェスス事務局長は、「生まれた場所に子どもの生死が左右されることがあってはならない」と訴えている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/03/15-18:43）

The number of children worldwide who died before age five reached a record low in 2022, the United Nations said in a report published Tuesday, as for the first time fewer than five million died.
According to the estimate, 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2022, a 51 percent decrease since 2000 and a 62 percent drop since 1990, according to the report, which still warned such progress is precarious and unequal.
There is a lot of good news, and the major one is that we have come to a historic level of under-five mortality, which... reached under 5 million for the first time, so it is 4.9 million per year, Helga Fogstad, director of health at the UN children's agency UNICEF, told AFP.
According to the report, prepared by UNICEF in conjunction with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, progress was particularly notable in developing countries such as Malawi, Rwanda and Mongolia, where early childhood mortality has fallen by more than 75 percent since 2000.
Behind these numbers lie the stories of midwives and skilled health personnel helping mothers safely deliver their newborns... vaccinating... children against deadly diseases, and (making) home visits to support families, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement.
But this is a precarious achievement, the report warned. Progress is at risk of stagnation or reversal unless efforts are taken to neutralize the numerous threats to newborn and child health and survival.
Researchers pointed to already worrying signs, saying that reduction in under-five deaths has slowed at the global level and notably in the sub-Saharan Africa region.
- Preventable deaths -
In total, 162 million children under the age of five have died since 2000, 72 million of whom perished in the first month of life, as complications related to birth are among the main causes of early childhood mortality.
Between the ages of one month and five years, respiratory infections, malaria and diarrhea become the main killers -- ailments which are all preventable, the report points out.
In order to reach the UN's goal of reducing under-five deaths to 25 per 1,000 births by 2030, 59 countries will need urgent investment in children's health, researchers warned. And without adequate funding, 64 countries will miss the goal of limiting first-month deaths to 12 per 1,000 births.
These are not just numbers on a page; they represent real lives cut short, the report said.
The numbers also reveal glaring inequalities across the world, as the sub-Saharan Africa region accounted for half of all deaths of children under age five in 2022.
A baby born in countries with high early childhood mortality, such as Chad, Nigeria or Somalia, is 80 times more likely to die before their fifth birthday than a baby born in countries with low childhood mortality rates, such as Finland, Japan and Singapore.
Where a child is born should not dictate whether they live or die, WHO head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.