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Infant health

Ten million children under age five die each year in the world including 40% in Sub-Saharan Africa and 35% in South Asia. One child in six does not reach the age of five in Least Developed Countries (LDCs) compared with 167 in developed countries.

Issues in infant health

Infectious diseases (diarrhea, respiratory infections, malaria), aggravated by nutritional deficiencies, are the main cause of death among children. Early treatment of these infections with simple and cheap techniques (oral rehydration, vaccinations, antibiotics, improved hygiene) could reduce infant-juvenile mortality considerably. Immunization coverage, which had fallen quite sharply in many countries in the 1990s, has recently improved thanks to a significant mobilization of funds: cases of measles and tetanus for instance have fallen sharply and poliomyelitis is being eradicated. New vaccines are now available against other serious diseases (for instance, against pneumococcus) thanks to advances in research, but they are very expensive.

Four out of the ten million children who die before the age of five do not live longer than four weeks. The neonatal mortality rate in Africa is estimated at 45 per one thousand live births (and the rate is no longer falling), compared with 34 in Asia, 17 in Latin America and 5 in developed countries. These deaths are closely linked to delivery conditions and could be avoided through a considerable strengthening of the technical quality of maternal healthcare services, including postpartum services.

AFD strategy

The means to fight infant mortality depends on whether it concerns:

neonatal mortality (almost 40% of infant mortality) which is closely linked to delivery conditions and postpartum care directly after for mothers and newborn children. Strategies to combat maternal mortality may have direct effects on preventing neonatal mortality, but it is also necessary to strengthen healthcare for newborn children;

infant-juvenile mortality, which is directly related to children’s growth and therefore to the prevention and treatment of communicable diseases. Effective strategies to combat mortality must include sustainable improvement in nutrition, access to drinking water and hygiene, immunization coverage and the control of common diseases (in particular through the Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses) within a functional health system.

The fight against infant-juvenile mortality and morbidity is largely based on the global effectiveness of health services. Sectoral support targeting system strengthening in collaboration with other partners therefore makes a considerable and sustainable contribution to combating infant-juvenile mortality.

Combating infant mortality also involves sustainably improving immunization coverage which receives considerable financing from GAVI, to which France makes significant contributions via the International Finance Facility for Immunization (IFFIm). Finally, the fight against child malnutrition includes a complex series of community-based interventions, often outside health systems, relating to health education and changing food behaviour.