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	Insufficient funding for humanitarian operations costs lives by OCHA, FEWS NET, NRC, ACAPS, agencies   Dec. 2018   In 2019 - 132 million people across the world will need urgent humanitarian assistance, by Mark Lowcock - UN Emergency Relief Coordinator   Today, We are launching the authoritative Global Humanitarian Overview 2019 (GHO), which outlines what the humanitarian and donor communities must do to assist and protect the world's most vulnerable crisis-affected people.   In 2019, nearly 132 million people in 42 countries will require humanitarian assistance and protection. The United Nations and humanitarian partner organizations aim to assist nearly 94 million of the most vulnerable among these people.   The total funding needed for the Global Humanitarian response plans this year, including Syria, is expected to be comparable to the 2018 requirements of $25 billion.   The humanitarian situation in some places, such as in Burkina Faso and Senegal, has begun to stabilize. But a number of crises require a scale-up in the response. The crisis in Yemen has worsened dramatically, and we will need to provide assistance to 15 million people in the country in 2019. In Afghanistan, where the situation had been expected to improve this year, needs have instead increased because of drought, political instability and returning refugees.   Next year, humanitarian funding requirements will be dominated by eight crises: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. The funding reflects what is required to alleviate horrific suffering and assist communities to build their resilience and begin to move beyond protracted or recurring crises.   The Global Humanitarian Overview is the world's most comprehensive, evidence-based assessment of global humanitarian needs, response and requirements. It is based on detailed analysis of data, extensive assessments, and consultations with the humanitarian organizations and the other stakeholders in each affected country.   Since taking up my post as UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator last year, I have travelled to 18 countries and seen first-hand how the humanitarian community remains incredibly effective at alleviating suffering.   In 2019, as in preceding years, the principal driver of human suffering is protracted armed conflict and the mass displacement it generates. We have seen little political progress in addressing the underlying problems of humanitarian crises, principally poverty, development and governance failures and the impacts of climate change. In 2018, 94 per cent of funding received has been for responses to crises lasting longer than five years.   The average length of Humanitarian Response Plans - the individual country plans which make up the global GHO - have increased from five years in 2014 to more than nine in 2018. Large, protracted crises command the majority of need. Between 2014 and 2018, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria accounted for 55 per cent of all funding received.   Humanitarian costs are also high because the services that humanitarians provide are more comprehensive than ever. In many places, we have become the default providers of basic services.   This year the funding we received from donors towards humanitarian appeals enabled us to protect and save tens of millions of lives.   Each month for instance, humanitarians are reaching 8 million Yemenis with food assistance, and 5.4 million people in Syria with supplies, medical assistance and protection. Aid workers continue to do all they can to assist people in need, even amid mounting threats to their safety.   Our assistance is more efficient, effective and accountable than ever. But humanitarian need does not look set to decrease any time soon, and given that, we must not only address immediate critical needs but foster action to reduce them. We must shift from response to prevention and early action to prevent large-scale crises. This can not only save lives but also significantly reduces response costs.   Tens of millions of people across the globe need assistance to survive. The bottom line is that the most efficient and effective way to respond right now to the needs of the 94 million most vulnerable people is swift and generous support for the Global Humanitarian Overview.   * Humanitarian Overview (80pp): http://www.unocha.org/sites/unocha/files/GHO2019.pdf   July 2018   Half way into the year, humanitarian organizations have only received 35 per cent of the money needed for humanitarian relief worldwide.   'Our humanitarian relief is a matter of life or death in many horrific war and disaster zones. The lack of funding leaves many desperate families without assistance. Mothers are forced to cut back on food for already malnourished children. Girls and boys are deprived of education and hope', warned Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council, Jan Egeland.   By the end of June, the international community had only provided US$9 billion of the US$25 billion needed for humanitarian assistance around the world, according to figures from the UN.   'It is outrageous that UN member states find an incredible US $1.7 trillion for military expenditure, but are willing to provide less than one per cent of this for relief to the many millions of victims of wars and disasters', said Egeland.   'The money needed is half the price of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. It is not a question about what the world can afford, but a question about priorities', he added.   The humanitarian appeals, put together by the UN and partner organizations, reflect the expected need for global relief funding in 2018. While the needs have increased substantially over the last decade, the available aid has not kept pace, leading to a large funding gap.   Despite the scale and the brutality of its crisis, DR Congo is one of the countries that have received the least funding so far this year, with only about 21 per cent of the UN appeal covered. The country topped NRC's latest list of neglected displacement crises and may very well repeat, unless donor countries immediately increase support.   In the Kasai region, cholera is rapidly spreading due to the poor water, sanitation and health infrastructure, claiming an increasing number of lives. In the same region, nearly 400,000 children risk deaths due to severe acute malnutrition, according to UNICEF, yet nutrition remains one of the lowest funded sectors in the current humanitarian response.   There are positive examples we must heed. The recent Ebola outbreak response is a very good example how an acute crisis can be averted when funding and capacity is deployed rapidly. When the outbreak was declared in May 2018, USD 57 million was released within ten days. This same efficiency and will should be applied to the broader humanitarian crisis in DR Congo.   'DR Congo is one of the countries where the funding gap is already claiming lives. Because of insufficient money, humanitarians are left with impossible choices, such as having to decide which of the communities affected by conflict and displacement should receive aid, and which must try to survive without', added Egeland.   The international community is also failing to provide sufficient support to Congolese refugees in the region. By June, the UN and partners had only received 6 per cent of the aid needed for Congolese refugees in Uganda. There is also an alarming funding gap for humanitarian response in several other countries that have received a large number of refugees, like Ethiopia, Sudan, Kenya, and Bangladesh.   'World leaders have promised better international responsibility sharing, but so far these promises ring hollow. Men, women and children, who have had their lives turned upside-down by wars and conflicts and, who need protection, are the ones paying the price', Egeland said.   Facts about the funding shortages:   US $25 billion are needed to provide urgent relief to people affected by crises in 2018, according to the humanitarian response plans put together by the UN and their partners. By the end of June, US $9 billion were received; this is only 35 per cent of the money needed.   In comparison, total world military expenditure rose to US $1739 billion in 2017, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).   The crises in Ethiopia and DR Congo are two of the leading crises that had received the least funding by the end of June, compared to the needs. Only 15 per cent of the money needed for support in Ethiopia has been received, while the equivalent figure for DR Congo is 21 per cent. Six per cent of the funding needed to support refugees from DR Congo in Uganda was received by June 2018.   http://www.nrc.no/news/2018/july/alarming-lack-of-funding-claims-lives/   June 2018   Insufficient funding for humanitarian operations costs lives. (OCHA)   Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, Ms. Ursula Mueller, Presentation of the Global Humanitarian Overview Status Report, June 2018   The Global Humanitarian Overview (GHO) for 2018 was launched last December. The GHO Status Report provides an update six months on, looking at crisis contexts, funding received, and unmet requirements.   In the past six months, donors have contributed US$8.3 billion in humanitarian response by the United Nations and partners.   I want to explain why we need to increase this level of humanitarian funding. Today's global, UN-coordinated, inter-agency humanitarian appeal calls for $25.4 billion to meet the needs of over 100 million individuals who depend on our support.   We have witnessed a steep increase in need in recent years. Thanks to continued support, humanitarian partners are doing more, doing it better, and continue to save lives.   Although GHO response plans are coordinated by the United Nations, some 800 different humanitarian organizations are involved in response operations. These are mostly national NGOs, which carry out humanitarian action.   The GHO covers 21 humanitarian response plans, four regional refugee response plans and one regional refugee and resilience plan. In all, 40 countries will be supported.   As we reach mid-year 2018, 156 million vulnerable people in 40 countries need assistance. These people need health interventions, nutrition, food security, education, protection, shelter, clean water and sanitation services. Some depend on our support for their very survival. Others, if unassisted, will continue living in extremely difficult circumstances, or will flee their homes or countries and face an additional new set of problems.   In addition to the severe situations in South Sudan, Syria Region, and Yemen, I would like to mention two significant crises that have seen critical changes since the start of the year, being Afghanistan and Bangladesh.   Drought is affecting two thirds of Afghanistan's provinces, and more than two million people are projected to be severely food insecure over the next six months. To address this critical situation, the Afghanistan appeal was increased by $117 million to assist 4.2 million people.   On Bangladesh: in March, the 2018 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis was increased by 119 per cent when UN agencies and NGO partners released an appeal that amounts to $951 million for this year. This targeted 1.3 million people, including more than 700,000 Rohingya refugees who have fled Myanmar since August last year. This is now known as the world's fastest growing refugee crisis. The ongoing emergency is also compounded by the arrival of the monsoon season.   The best-funded appeals in proportion to requirements are those for Yemen, Nigeria and Iraq. With Yemen funded at just over 50 per cent, and Iraq and Nigeria at 50 percent and 46 percent, respectively, much has been accomplished, but nevertheless these appeals require greater funding to close the remaining gap.   I would also like to draw your attention to the five least funded appeals as of June 2018. These are for Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, the occupied Palestinian territory, and Ukraine. It is critical that donors consider the consequences to individuals and families if humanitarian operations are not funded over the next six months. Underfunding means medical facilities close, food rations are cut back and children are denied an education.   This translates in less protection and lives lost, and we cannot afford to wait for the media to place a spotlight on these crises before stepping up our response.   Also, largely outside the media spotlight, are the nearly six million people across the Sahel region, who cannot access adequate food. We have seen evidence of rapid health deterioration in recent months in Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.   In Ethiopia, at least 7.9 million people need humanitarian assistance because of drought, disease outbreaks, loss of livestock and displacement caused by an upsurge of violence along the border between Oromia and Somali regions. The Government and humanitarian partners have asked for $280 million over the next six months to help the worst-affected people, through the Ethiopia Humanitarian and Disaster Resilience Plan.   I recently visited the Central African Republic, where I witnessed first-hand the effects of renewed, large-scale violence, which has led to one of the highest humanitarian caseloads per capita in the world. While this crisis has faded from the headlines in 2018, the number of internally displaced people has nearly doubled over the last 12 months and growing numbers of Central Africans are seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. The humanitarian response for CAR is severely underfunded this year again, with contributions at just 21 per cent of what is required. People I met with were running out of hope.   In the last six months the UN and humanitarian partners have worked together to provide aid to the most vulnerable people in need. The UN alongside regional and national partners have held funding events for the DRC, Somalia, Syria and the region, and Yemen. I would like to thank the donors who have pledged funds to these crises, and including those who contributed to the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF).   Let me make it clear. Insufficient funding for humanitarian operations costs lives. 100 million people are looking to the international community for their hope and survival. We cannot to let them down.   http://interactive.unocha.org/publication/globalhumanitarianoverview/   Jan. 2018   2018 Global Humanitarian Appeal. (OCHA)   Some 136 million people across the world are in urgent need of humanitarian aid and protection due to protracted conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics and displacement.   In response to people's urgent needs, UN-coordinated humanitarian response plans aim to reach 91 million of the most vulnerable people with food, shelter, health care, emergency education, protection and other basic assistance in 2018.   UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock:   'The Global Humanitarian Overview for 2018 is the world's most comprehensive, authoritative, and sophisticated assessment of humanitarian need in the year ahead. It is based on data gathered from hundreds of different sources, including from hundreds of thousands of face-to-face interviews with people affected by humanitarian crises across the 30 or 40 countries where we expect to need to deliver a humanitarian response in 2018.   The overview - and the detailed country by country reports which accompany it - sets out highly prioritized, costed plans that aim to alleviate the suffering of affected people and aim to deliver assistance quickly and efficiently.   The response plans are coordinated across the United Nations and most of the world's leading NGOs, and they reflect participation and inputs from Governments, the Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, and a wide range of other stakeholders.   In 2018, in countries with Humanitarian Response Plans, we are projecting that 136 million people will need humanitarian assistance and protection, that is 6 per cent higher than we were projecting for 2017 this time last year. During the course of 2017, the number of people in need has gone up reflecting some new crises like that of the Rohingya refugees and also reflecting bigger problems on some of crises that we were forecasting.   The 2018 overview calls for US$22.5 billion to provide urgent assistance and protection to 91 million of those affected people across 26 countries. (With costs averaging approximately $230 a year per person to meet essential needs).   Conflict and violence will continue to be the main drivers of humanitarian need in 2018, they force people to flee from their homes, they deny them access to adequate food, and they rob them of their means of making a living. Droughts, floods, hurricanes and other natural disasters will also fuel humanitarian suffering.   In 2017, humanitarian agencies reached tens of millions of people in need, saving millions of lives. Together, aid groups and humanitarian donors helped stave off famines in South Sudan, Somalia, north-east Nigeria and Yemen and stepped up to provide rapid assistance to refugees fleeing from violence in Myanmar.   Each year the global humanitarian system reaches tens of millions of people and we save millions of lives, but we don't have the resources we need and we're facing some very big challenges. We need more support for our work to deliver urgently needed assistance to those in great need'.   Helle Thorning-Schmidt, CEO of Save the Children International:   'With unprecedented levels of humanitarian need, we at Save the Children have a lot to do.. But we also need governments and institutions to take a longer term approach by tackling the cause of these crises as well as the symptoms. By brokering peace agreements, investing in education, helping communities build resilience to climate shocks, and speaking up when people are persecuted. Without this, we will continue to see a record level of suffering'.   For 2018, needs will remain at exceptionally high levels in Nigeria, South Sudan, the Syria region and Yemen, which is likely to remain the world's worst humanitarian crisis, in terms of the number of people who need help and whose life are in immediate danger.   In some countries needs will fall, but still remain significant, including Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Iraq, Mali, and Ukraine. But at the same time, needs are rising substantially in Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya and Somalia.   * 2018 Global Humanitarian Appeal: http://bit.ly/2AjMq4l http://bit.ly/2BOlc47   Jan. 2018   Very large assistance needs and Famine risk will continue in 2018. (Fews-Net)   Following unprecedented food assistance needs in 2017, little improvement is anticipated during the coming year. Across 45 countries, an estimated 76 million people are expected to require emergency food assistance during 2018. Four countries - Yemen, South Sudan, Somalia, and Nigeria face a credible risk of Famine (IPC Phase 5).   Given that no improvement in underlying conditions is expected in these countries, the provision of humanitarian assistance will be a primary determinant of whether Famine is averted. Governments, international agencies, donors, and other stakeholders should make all possible efforts to resolve conflict, ensure humanitarian access, and provide timely, multi-sectoral assistance to prevent large-scale loss of life.   Conflict will be the primary driver of food security emergencies during 2018 including in Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Nigeria and the Lake Chad region, South Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. In these countries, ongoing insecurity will continue to disrupt livelihoods, limit trade and market functioning, displace households, and hinder the delivery of humanitarian assistance. Poor rainfall, and its impact on crop and livestock production, will also contribute to a high level of need in some countries.   In parts of the Horn of Africa, a severe drought during the past 18 months has decimated livestock herds and sharply reduced crop production, particularly in Somalia and southeastern Ethiopia. Forecasts also indicate that below-average rainfall is likely during the spring 2018 rainy season, in part due to the ongoing La Nina.   In addition, rainfall in some pastoral areas of West Africa has been mediocre to poor for a third consecutive year, and forecasts for the upcoming seasons in Southern Africa and Central Asia indicate an increased likelihood of drier than usual conditions.   As a result of conflict, below-average rainfall, and a range of other shocks (e.g., currency depreciation, Fall Army Worm), an estimated 76 million people are likely to require emergency food assistance during 2018. This figure is 60 percent higher than in 2015 and only slightly lower than the 83 million people in need during 2017. The decline between 2017 and 2018 is due, almost entirely, to improvements in Southern Africa. The size of the food insecure population is likely to grow in most other countries.   Thirteen countries are expected to have more than one million people (local populations, IDPs, and refugees) in Crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse and in need of emergency assistance during 2018. These include: Yemen (>15 million); Syria, South Sudan, DRC, Ethiopia, and Nigeria (5.00-6.99 million); Afghanistan, Somalia, and Sudan (3.00-4.99 million); and Kenya, Iraq, Uganda, and Pakistan (1.00-2.99 million).   Four countries face a credible risk of Famine during 2018. In Yemen, a country which relies on maritime imports for 80 percent of its food, the closure of all ports to commercial trade risks a major deterioration in food insecurity, which is already severe.   In northeast Nigeria, while humanitarian access has improved in some areas, a Famine may be ongoing in remaining inaccessible areas of Borno State where access to food has been limited by ongoing conflict.   In South Sudan, ongoing conflict and hyper-inflation have led to extreme levels of food insecurity. In the absence of assistance, Famine would be likely in many areas, including Wau county, central Unity State, and northwest Jonglei State.   Finally, in Somalia, a severe drought during 2016 and 2017 has driven high levels of livestock death and three consecutive below-average crop harvests. While assistance may have prevented Famine in Somalia during 2017, the large loss of livestock and forecasts for poor 2018 rains mean that continued assistance flows are critical.   FEWS NET also remains very concerned about Ethiopia's Somali Region where severe food insecurity persists, especially among displaced pastoral households.   http://www.fews.net/global/alert/november-28-2017   Humanitarian Overview: An Analysis of Key Crises into 2018, report from Assessment Capacities Project. (ACAPS)   The Humanitarian Overview: An analysis of key crises into 2018 focuses primarily on the crises that are expected to deteriorate in the coming year and outlines the likely corresponding humanitarian needs.   Based on our weekly Global Emergency Overview (GEO), we have identified 12 countries that are likely to face deteriorating humanitarian situations in 2018. We include a further six countries where the crises are already severe and likely to continue in a similar trend.   Across these countries, food security, displacement, health, and protection are expected to be the most pressing humanitarian needs in 2018.   Most humanitarian crises in this report are driven by conflict, with a spread in violence and shifts in tactics this year in several countries. The situations in Congo, South Sudan, and Venezuela are further compounded by economic crisis, and Ethiopia and Somalia are particularly affected by natural disasters.   ACAPS has taken a regional approach to analysis of the Rohingya crisis as the scope of it covers both the high influx of refugees into Bangladesh as well as those that have remained in Myanmar.   Each country section of this report covers the key driving factors of the current situation and the outlook and resulting humanitarian needs for 2018.   "If 2017 did not look good, predictions for 2018 are no better: violence and insecurity are likely to deteriorate in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Libya, Ethiopia, Mali, Somalia, and Syria next year," ACAPS director Lars Peter Nissen writes in the report. http://www.acaps.org/ Visit the related web page
	Levels and Trends in Child Mortality: Report 2017 by Unicef, Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality   Every day in 2016, 15,000 children died before their fifth birthday, 46 per cent of them or 7,000 babies died in the first 28 days of life, according to a new UN report.   Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2017, reveals that although the number of children dying before the age of five is at 5.6 million in 2016, compared with nearly 9.9 million in 2000, the proportion of under-five deaths in the newborn period has increased from 41 per cent to 46 per cent during the same period.   'The lives of 50 million children under-five have been saved since 2000, a testament to the serious commitment by governments and development partners to tackle preventable child deaths', said UNICEF Chief of Health, Stefan Swartling Peterson.   'But unless we do more to stop babies from dying the day they are born, or days after their birth, this progress will remain incomplete. We have the knowledge and technologies that are required, we just need to take them where they are most needed'.   At current trends, 60 million children will die before their fifth birthday between 2017 and 2030, half of them newborns, according to the report released by UNICEF, the World Health Organization, and the Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME).   Most newborn deaths occurred in two regions: Southern Asia (39 per cent) and sub-Saharan Africa (38 per cent). Five countries accounted for half of all new-born deaths: India (24 per cent), Pakistan (10 per cent), Nigeria (9 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (4 per cent) and Ethiopia (3 per cent).   'To achieve universal health coverage and ensure more newborns survive and thrive, we must serve marginalized families', says Dr Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director-General for Family, Women's and Children's Health at WHO. 'To prevent illness, families require financial power, their voices to be heard and access to quality care. Improving quality of services and timely care during and after childbirth must be prioritized'.   The report notes that many lives can be saved if global inequities are reduced. If all countries achieved the average mortality of high-income countries, 87 per cent of under-five deaths could have been averted and almost 5 million lives could have been saved in 2016.   Pneumonia and diarrhea top the list of infectious diseases which claim the lives of millions of children under-five globally, accounting for 16 per cent and 8 per cent of deaths, respectively. Preterm birth complications and complications during labour or child birth were the causes of 30 per cent of newborn deaths in 2016. In addition to the 5.6 million under-5 deaths, 2.6 million babies are stillborn each year, the majority of which could be prevented.   Ending preventable child deaths can be achieved by improving access to skilled health-professionals during pregnancy and at the time of birth; lifesaving interventions, such as immunization, breastfeeding and inexpensive medicines; and increasing access to water and sanitation, that are currently beyond the reach of the world's poorest communities.   For the first time, mortality data for older children age 5 to 14 was included in the report, capturing other causes of death such as accidents and injuries. Approximately 1 million children aged 5 to 14 died in 2016.   This new report highlights the significant progress since 2000 in reducing mortality among children under age 5. Despite this progress, large disparities in child survival still exist across regions and countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet many deaths at these ages are easily preventable through simple, cost-effective interventions administered before, during and immediately after birth.   Reducing inequities and reaching the most vulnerable newborns, children and mothers are essential for achieving the SDG target on ending preventable childhood deaths and for ensuring that no one will be left behind.   The report also notes that:   In sub-Saharan Africa, estimates show that 1 child in 36 dies in the first month, while in the world's high income countries, the ratio is 1 in 333.   Unless the rate of progress improves, more than 60 countries will miss the UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to end preventable deaths of newborns by 2030 and half would not meet the target of 12 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births by 2050.   The data reveals that the rate of newborn deaths is not decreasing as quickly as that of children aged one to five. As a result, newborns account for a growing proportion of child deaths with each passing year. Newborn deaths made up 46 per cent of all child deaths, an increase from 41 per cent in 2000. Most of these deaths are entirely preventable.   Prematurity, complications during labour and birth, and infections like sepsis, pneumonia, tetanus and diarrhoea are among the leading causes - all of which can be treated or prevented with simple, affordable solutions.   But these children are also dying because of who they are and the environment they were born into whether it be an impoverished family, a marginalized community or a country consumed by conflict.   Of all society's injustices, this is perhaps the greatest: Children in the poorest households are nearly twice as likely to die before the age of five than those from the richest.   The good news is that ending preventable newborn and child deaths is possible, within our lifetime. With a concerted, coordinated effort among policymakers, businesses, healthcare workers, communities and families, we can work together to provide affordable, quality healthcare for every mother and child.   The risk of dying for a child born in the highest mortality country is about 60 times higher than in the lowest mortality country. All six countries with mortality rates above 100 deaths per 1,000 live births are in sub-Saharan Africa.   Ending newborn and child deaths from preventable infectious diseases is critical. Despite strong advances in fighting childhood illnesses, infectious diseases - which are most often diseases of the poor and thus are a marker of equity - remain highly prevalent, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.   Pneumonia, diarrhoea and malaria remain among the leading causes of death among children under age 5, accounting for almost a third of global under-five deaths and about 40 per cent of under-five deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. http://uni.cf/2yTcPX1   http://data.unicef.org/resources/levels-trends-child-mortality/   July 2017   Narrowing the Gaps: The power of investing in the poorest children   From inadequate healthcare and nutrition to vulnerability to infectious diseases, children living in poor communities face inequities every day. But perhaps the most fundamental injustice is this: Children growing up in poverty are nearly twice as likely to die before reaching their fifth birthday as children living in better circumstances. An unconscionable majority of them die unnecessarily.   With practical, low-cost and high-impact interventions like treated mosquito nets, immunizations, rehydration salts or breastfeeding, most of these deaths could be prevented.   The new UNICEF report Narrowing the Gaps: The power of investing in the poorest children, reveals that investing in the health and survival of the most deprived children is not only right in principle, it is also cost-effective.   The report presents compelling evidence that investments in children living in the poorest communities save almost twice as many lives per US$1 million as equivalent investments in non-poor communities. Drawing on new data from 51 countries where around 80 per cent of all newborn and under-five deaths occur, the study shows that improvements in coverage of life-saving interventions among poor groups helped decrease child mortality nearly three times faster than among non-poor groups.   The findings come at a critical time, as governments continue their work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, which set a target of ending all preventable deaths among newborns and children under the age of five by 2030. Unless the world makes greater progress in reducing child mortality, by 2030 almost 70 million children will die before reaching their fifth birthday.   http://data.unicef.org/resources/narrowing-the-gaps/ http://uni.cf/2h5c03F http://www.endchildhoodpoverty.org/publications-feed/2017/4/3/a-world-free-from-child-poverty-a-guide-to-the-tasks-to-achieve-the-vision Visit the related web page
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