Last week, the East African reported on the latest data released by UNICEF and partners which show that the number of children dying before their fifth birthday has nearly halved from 12 million in 1990 to 6.9 million in 2011

Indeed during the last two decades the world has made huge strides in reducing child deaths through new vaccines, better health care, investments in education and strong commitments from governments.

There has also been remarkable progress in Eastern and Southern Africa. Country after country has shown that prioritizing and investing in child survival and improving children’s health and nutrition in their early years mean fewer deaths, better lives and long-term benefits for societies as a whole.

Among the top 20 high-mortality countries that have reduced their under-five mortality by more than half since 1990, eight are in the Eastern and Southern Africa region – Rwanda, Malawi, Madagascar, Ethiopia, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and Eritrea.

The story of child survival in the past two decades is one of striking success - and also of unfinished business. Despite all the progress made, it is unacceptable that here in Eastern and Southern Africa, more than 3,200 children still die every day from causes that can be easily prevented.

Even though the pace of saving young lives has been rising, some countries and areas within countries, still struggle. All of the 20 countries with the highest under-five mortality rates are in sub-Saharan Africa, including four in Eastern and Southern Africa: Somalia, Angola, Burundi and South Sudan

Moreover, in general terms, children from rural areas are much more likely to die before their fifth birthday than those in urban areas, and the under-five mortality rate is almost twice as high among children from poor families compared to wealthy children.
There are the disadvantaged and marginalized populations who bear the burden of child deaths.

What lessons did we learn? What needs to be done?

A concerted push is needed to ensure that all children – no matter where and to whom they are born – survive and thrive. ‘Every child, everywhere” is the motto!

The good news is that we collectively have the knowledge, tools, treatments, and technology to save millions of lives every year.
We know what the biggest killers of young children are here in this region: pneumonia, diarrhoea, and malaria – all causes that can be prevented or diseases that can be treated at a relatively low cost.

We know that most child deaths occur during the first crucial months of life; that a child’s chances of survival improve when the mother is healthy; that poor nutrition is an underlying cause in a third of all under-five deaths.

Inexpensive solutions lie within reach, such as vaccines against measles and polio, methods to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV; oral-rehydration salts and zinc to treat diarrhoea; antibiotics for pneumonia; and oxytocin preventing women from bleeding to death after childbirth.

In addition, UNICEF studies show that when women receive proper prenatal care, and have access to skilled birth attendants and to emergency obstetric care, the benefits for mothers and their babies are enormous.

Beyond health interventions

Let me emphasize this: Saving lives is not only about health interventions. Access to improved water and sanitation, hand washing with soap, exclusive breastfeeding, better nutrition for mothers and babies is crucial if we want to prevent the needless deaths of countless women and children.

Education is another part of the equation. A child born to a woman who can read is much more likely to live past his or her fifth year birthday than one born to an illiterate mother. Every extra year of a mother’s schooling reduces the probability of an infant dying by up to 10 per cent.

The message is unequivocal: we can radically reduce child deaths - in the world as a whole and here in Eastern and Southern Africa. Sound strategies, scale-up of known and effective interventions, adequate resources, - and above all - political will are imperative.

Under the banner of, Committing to Child Survival: A Promise Renewed, UNICEF and partners are inviting governments, civil society, faith based organizations and private sector to unite around the clear and compelling goal: to give every last child the best possible start in life.

More than a hundred governments and numerous organizations have already signed a pledge to increase action and achieve this goal. We call upon the few remaining governments in Eastern and Southern Africa that have not yet joined the movement to also renew their promise to save children’s lives.

We must seize the opportunity to build on the achievements of the past two decades. Everybody has a role to play whether in government, in civil society organizations or in individual families!

Together we can and we will work towards giving each and every child an equal opportunity to survive.

Together we can achieve it!