Infant Mortality

Infant mortality occurs when a child dies before their first birthday. Childhood mortality is the death of a child before their fifth birthday. National statistics tend to group these two mortality rates together. Ten million infants and children die each year before their fifth birthday. Ninety-nine percent of these infant and childhood deaths occur in Developing nation. Infant mortality takes away society’s potential physical, social, and human capital.

Generally the most common cause worldwide was dehydration from diarrhea, a preventable disease; however, a variety of programs combating this problem have decreased the rate of children dying from dehydration. Many factors contribute to infant mortality such as the mother’s level of education, environmental conditions, and political and medical infrastructure. Improving sanitation, increasing access to clean drinking water, and providing immunization against infectious diseases, among other public health improvements, could help solve high rates of infant mortality.