A Promise Renewed: 2015 Progress Report, released today, shows that since 2000, when governments committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the lives of 48 million children under the age of five have been saved globally. The number of children who die from mostly preventable causes before they turn five now stands at 5.9 million a year – a 53 percent drop since 1990. Even more promising is the rate of reduction – or speed at which mortality is decreasing – is happening twice as quickly as it was in 1990. 

Simple, high-impact, cost-effective solutions that contributed to this dramatic reduction in under-five deaths include skilled birth delivery, antenatal and postnatal care, exclusive breastfeeding, immunizations, insecticide-treated mosquito nets, improved water and sanitation, oral rehydration therapy for diarrhea, and antibiotics for pneumonia.

Despite these promising results, too many children are dying every day from causes we can prevent. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is working with country governments and partners to scale up effective interventions and end preventable child and maternal deaths within a generation. 

Learn more

• Read the A Promise Renewed: 2015 Progress Report [PDF, 12.4MB]
• View key findings from the A Promise Renewed report [PDF, 5.9MB]
• Read the Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2015 report [PDF, 4.0MB].
• Learn more about USAID’s work to end preventable child and maternal deaths.
• Follow the conversation on Twitter using #Promise4Children. 

Photo credit: Amy Fowler/USAID