Although UNICEF, World Health Organization and World Bank annual reports did not pick out the United States, President Donald Trump’s administration weakened the vast majority of plans for USAID, the major U.S. overseas aid agency, with a previous annual budget of $42.8 billion.
“While we are seeing, the global health community is not too worried about what we are seeing,” UNICEF Deputy Director of Health Fouzia Shafique told AFP.
The report warns that the consequences of aid cuts will be that infant mortality rates are already the highest, such as sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
“In short, many countries can expect a revival of newborn and child deaths without sustained support for life-saving services,” the report said.
The report said that in 2023, the mortality rate of children under five continued to decline, recording 4.8 million deaths, including 2.3 million newborn babies under one month.
Such deaths fell below 5 million for the first time in 2022, while new records fell 52% since 2000.
But Shafik insists, “4.8 million is 4.8 million.”
Progress in combat child mortality has been slowing since 2015 as aid funds are redirected to fight Covid – which may just be the beginning of a dangerous pattern.
“To create a record low for preventable child deaths is a remarkable achievement. But without the right policy choices and the right investment, we have the potential to reverse these hard gains.”
“We can’t let this happen,” she added.
1.9 million dead babies
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Some of the negative effects of funding cuts have been felt, such as shortages of health care workers, closures of clinics, disruptions in vaccination programs and a lack of basic supplies, such as malaria treatment.
For example, Ethiopia is suffering from a huge increase in malaria cases, Shafique said.
But the country faces a sharp shortage of diagnostic tests, nets of pesticide treatments in bed and funds for campaigns targeting disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Another report from the same organization found that the number of stillbirths is stubborn – babies who died before or during childbirth at 28 weeks of pregnancy, with a total of about 1.9 million such deaths in 2023.
“Every day, more than 5,000 women around the world endure the heartbreaking experience of stillbirth,” the second report states.
During pregnancy and delivery, proper care can prevent many of these deaths, and premature birth of vulnerable babies can also be avoided.
Fighting against preventable diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhea can also prevent children from dying to a large extent.
“From addressing malaria to preventing stillbirth and ensuring evidence care for the smallest babies, we can make a difference for millions of families,” said Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director of the World Health Organization.
