UN IGME 2025 Report on Child Mortality | 24 Mar 2026

Why in News? 

The United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) released its Report 2025 titled 'Levels and Trends in Child Mortality'. The report highlights a worrying slowdown in global progress regarding child survival since 2015, while simultaneously acknowledging India as a leading global "exemplar" for its sustained reduction in child mortality rates.

What are the Key Highlights of the UN IGME 2025 Report?

• Global Burden: An estimated 4.9 million children died before their fifth birthday in 2024, which includes 2.3 million newborns. 
  • An additional 2.1 million children and youth aged 5–24 years also died in 2024.
  • Child deaths are heavily concentrated geographically. Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 58% of global under-five deaths, followed by Southern Asia (25%).
• Deceleration in Progress: Although under-five mortality has fallen by more than half since 2000 globally, the pace of reduction has slowed by more than 60% since 2015.
  • The slowdown in progress is linked to reduced funding for child health programs, unequal healthcare access, and persistent socio-economic disparities, which limit the reach of essential services like nutrition and vaccination.
• First-Time Data on Malnutrition: For the first time, the report directly integrated causes of death, revealing that Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) directly caused over 100,000 deaths (around 5%) among children aged 1–59 months. 
  • The indirect toll is much higher, as SAM weakens immunity against common infections.
• Primary Causes of Death:
  • Newborns (0-28 days): Complications from preterm birth (36%) and complications during labour and delivery (21%).
  • Post-neonatal (1-59 months): Infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria remain the biggest killers.

India’s Performance: A Global Exemplar

• Under-5 Mortality Rate (U5MR): India registered a massive 79% decline, dropping from 127 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 27 in 2024.
• Neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR): The NMR has witnessed a 70% decline, falling from 57 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 17 in 2024.
• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR): In 2024, IMR reduced to roughly 23.3 per 1,000 live births.

What are the Key Drivers of India’s Success in Reducing Child Mortality?

• Promoting Institutional Deliveries: Schemes like Janani Suraksha Yojana (JSY) and Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram (JSSK) have drastically increased hospital births, ensuring skilled birth attendance and safer deliveries.
• Newborn Care Infrastructure: The expansion of Special Newborn Care Units (SNCUs) across districts, including digital innovations like Tele-SNCU, has saved millions of premature and sick newborns.
• Preventive Healthcare: The Universal Immunization Programme (UIP) (strengthened by Mission Indradhanush) has massively expanded vaccine coverage against preventable diseases like pneumonia, rotavirus, and measles.
• Integrated Management: The implementation of the Integrated Management of Neonatal and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) protocol at the grassroots level by ASHA and Anganwadi workers has enabled early diagnosis and treatment of childhood diseases.
• Focus on Nutrition and Breastfeeding:  POSHAN Abhiyaan (National Nutrition Mission) aims to achieve a malnutrition-free India, while the Anemia Mukt Bharat Abhiyan (2018) focuses on reducing anemia levels. 
  • The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 ensures food and nutrition as a legal right for vulnerable populations. 
  • Under Pradhan Mantri Matru Vandana Yojana (PMMVY), financial assistance is provided to pregnant women to support safe delivery and nutrition. 
  • The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme (1975) delivers nutrition, healthcare, immunisation, and preschool education to children under six.
  • MAA (Mothers’ Absolute Affection) Programme nationwide campaign promotes optimal breastfeeding practices, particularly exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, which is a powerful natural intervention to build an infant's immunity.

What are the Major Challenges Driving Child Mortality in India?

• Persistent Neonatal Mortality Burden: A major challenge is that most child deaths occur in the first month, driven by prematurity, birth asphyxia, and infections, making early-life survival a critical concern.
• Malnutrition as a Silent Multiplier: Widespread malnutrition and maternal anemia continue to weaken child immunity and lead to low-birth-weight babies, increasing vulnerability to preventable diseases.
  • As per the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019–2021), anaemia among women in India remains significantly high, with 57% of women (15–49 years) affected, while 52.2% of pregnant women (15–49 years) are anaemic, highlighting serious concerns related to maternal health and nutrition.
• Deep Regional Inequalities: Social inequality within states and districts is a major challenge, not just inequality between states.
  • For instance, states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have achieved mortality rates comparable to developed nations due to better health infrastructure, while states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh still struggle with significantly higher burdens.
  • Factors such as maternal education, poverty, caste disadvantage, and low social capital remain key drivers of mortality disparities in India.
  • Lack of immediate access to fully equipped SNCUs and pediatric intensive care in remote, rural, and tribal belts leads to a "golden hour" delay in treating critical pediatric emergencies.
• Inadequate Healthcare Infrastructure: Limited availability of specialised neonatal care units (SNCUs) and delays in emergency care, especially in remote areas, remain a major bottleneck.
  • Pneumonia and diarrhoeal diseases remain major causes of post-neonatal mortality in India, indicating that the challenge extends beyond safe births to ensuring child survival in the first five years, largely due to persistent Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) deficits.
• Quality of Care Deficit: Despite high institutional deliveries, poor quality of intrapartum care and lack of skilled personnel hinder effective newborn survival.
• Pressure to Meet SDG Targets: India is under pressure to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3.2, which aims to reduce the Under-5 Mortality Rate below 25 and the Neonatal Mortality Rate below 12 per 1,000 live births by 2030. 
  • While progress has been made, faster and more targeted interventions are required to meet these goals.

What Measures are Needed to Further Reduce Child Mortality in India?

• Targeting the First 28 Days: India must intensify its focus on intrapartum care (quality of care during labour) and immediate newborn screening to address asphyxia and prematurity.
• Strengthening Newborn Survival Systems: The biggest gains will come from fixing the neonatal stage. 
  • Institutionalising Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) across all facilities, and strict implementation of Early Essential Newborn Care (EENC) like immediate breastfeeding, Breast Milk Banks and proper birth practices can prevent a large share of deaths at very low cost.
• Fixing the Quality Gap in Delivery Care: India has achieved high institutional deliveries, but survival depends on quality, not just access. 
  • Programs like LaQshya must be enforced to improve labour room standards, and frontline staff must be regularly trained in neonatal resuscitation, especially for the “golden minute” after birth.
• Breaking the Malnutrition Cycle (First 1,000 Days): Child mortality is closely tied to maternal and early-child nutrition. 
  • Strengthening POSHAN Abhiyaan 2.0 and Anaemia Mukt Bharat is critical to prevent low-birth-weight babies and weak immunity, shifting focus from just calorie intake to nutritional quality and micronutrients.
• Targeting High-Burden Regions: Resources must be focused on high-mortality states and Aspirational Districts, along with tribal health strategies like mobile units and local health workers to overcome access barriers.
• Using Data for Real-Time Action: Expanding U-WIN for immunisation tracking can help identify gaps quickly and ensure corrective action.
• Empowering Frontline Health Workers: ASHA and Anganwadi workers are key to early detection and referral. 
  • Providing them with better tools, training, and timely incentives will directly improve child survival at the grassroots level.

Conclusion

India’s demographic dividend depends on the health and survival of its children. Achieving this requires a converged approach across health, nutrition, and WASH sectors, enabling India to break the cycle of malnutrition and mortality and meet SDG 2030 targets.