A Preventable Tragedy

In total, almost nine million children—one every three seconds—die annually around the world, which is more than 24,000 children a day. Ninety-nine percent of these deaths take place in the developing world.

Many of these deaths are from preventable or treatable illnesses like pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria, measles and complications related to childbirth. Nearly four million of these deaths occur in newborns — babies less than one month old. Each year two million children die the day they are born.

Often families live far away from health facilities, which are too few in number. Sometimes they don't realize the importance of prevention — such as vaccines and mosquito nets. And sadly, many parents simply don't recognize how sick their child is, until it is too late.

The Solution

A critical element is the availability of a local community health worker. Save the Children trains these community health workers to deliver life-saving care to women and children in remote areas. They help provide the following proven, crucial solutions:

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