Poverty is killing children
More than 25,000 young children die each day across the world, yet most of these deaths are preventable.
In some countries, such as Sierra Leone, Niger and Angola, one child in four dies before their fifth birthday. In a country such as Vietnam, a child from the poorest 20 per cent of the population is four times more likely to die than one from the richest 20 per cent.
The most common causes of death in young children are pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria and measles. Children who are malnourished are at far greater risk of dying from these causes because they are too weak to fight disease.
Countries with the highest infant death rates are Angola, Afghanistan and Mozambique.
