Ensuring survival

Every minute of the day, close to ten children under the age of five die due to causes that could be avoided. That’s 4.9 million children a year. UNICEF works tirelessly to ensure the survival of babies and children.

In Burundi, one in two children doesn’t get enough food and nutrients to survive and grow up healthy. The first 1,000 days are crucial for a child’s development. UNICEF is there on the ground, providing therapeutic food and medical assistance to mothers and children.

Every day, around 850 children are infected with HIV, most of them during pregnancy, birth or breastfeeding. 310 children die every day from AIDS-related causes, mostly due to inadequate access to HIV prevention, care and treatment services.

Every child should be protected from preventable diseases. That is why UNICEF organizes global vaccination campaigns and distributes more than 2 billion doses of vaccines each year.

Every two minutes, a child dies of malaria. This mosquito-borne disease poses an increased risk to little ones: in many countries, malaria is one of the main causes of high child mortality. Since there is still no vaccine, mosquito nets remain the most effective protection.

Globally, more than 1,300 children before the age of five die every day from diarrheal diseases connected to water pollution and inadequate hygiene. 2.2 billion people still lack access to safe drinking water.

Neonatal tetanus is one of the leading causes of death among newborns, claiming the lives of more than 18,000 children under the age of five each year.

Globally, almost one in three children suffer from hunger, while 15.6 million children under the age of five are severely underweight. UNICEF is committed to identifying and tackling child malnutrition.