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Hope for 11 million children facing death from illnesses

The World Health Assembly has given a powerful endorsement to new strategic directions for child and adolescent health. The strategy brings together crucial elements to reduce childhood deaths and long term disability. It also aims to reduce the 1.4 million adolescent deaths each year.

Last year, the number of children and adolescents who died was double the total number of adult deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. In 2000 10.8 million children under five years old died, over half of them from just five preventable communicable diseases and malnutrition. 99% of these deaths are in developing countries.

“This strong support and reinforced commitment by the Member States to strengthen child and adolescent health comes at a crucial time in our efforts to save the lives of millions of children“ says Dr Tomris Turmen, Executive Director of Family and Community Health at WHO.…