Nigeria Among Worst Affected as UN Flags Shocking Under-Five Death Rate, 100 Children Die for Every 1,000 Births
A troubling new United Nations report has placed Nigeria among the four countries in the world where over 100 children die for every 1,000 live births, a devastating statistic that paints a grim picture of child survival in the nation.
The UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (IGME), in its 2023 global report, revealed that sub-Saharan Africa remains the epicenter of under-five mortality, with Nigeria, Niger, Somalia, and Chad as the only countries still recording child death rates above 100 per 1,000 births. Despite global progress, the burden in Africa remains alarmingly high.
In 2023 alone, an estimated 4.8 million children worldwide died before their fifth birthday, mostly from preventable causes such as pneumonia, malaria, malnutrition, diarrhoeal diseases, and lack of access to timely medical care. Of these, 2.3 million died within the first month of life, while 2.5 million succumbed between one month and five years old.
The disparities are stark. A child born in a country with the highest child mortality rate is 80 times more likely to die before age five than one born in the lowest-ranking country, where mortality is just 1.4 deaths per 1,000 live births. Sub-Saharan Africa recorded a regional average of 69 deaths per 1,000 live births—14 times higher than Europe and North America, and 18 times higher than Australia and New Zealand.
Nigeria’s northern region, in particular, bears the brunt. According to Dr. Abdurrazzaq Alege, Consultant Paediatrician at the Federal Teaching Hospital, Katsina, rampant insecurity, insurgency, and banditry have cut off access to essential services like food production and healthcare.
“Insecurity means people can’t farm, which leads to food scarcity and malnutrition, a major killer of children,” Alege noted.
He emphasized that low vaccine uptake, poor healthcare funding, and a lack of maternal education further fuel the crisis. “Many families live below the poverty line. If the government increases health spending, invests in vaccine production, and makes maternal and child health services free, we can save lives,” he added.
While the report does highlight progress, from 42 countries with over 100 child deaths per 1,000 births in 2000 to just four in 2023, it underscores the urgent need for targeted investment, health education, and poverty reduction in Nigeria and across sub-Saharan Africa.
