Global Child and Maternal Health

In 1990, the United Nations (UN) launched the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which included a target to reduce by two thirds the under-5-years mortality rate by 2015. Significant progress has been made in achieving this goal; according to a 2014 report from UNICEF, Level and Trends in Child Mortality, from 1990 to 2013, the number of child deaths for children under 5 years of age was reduced by half to around 6.3 million per year. However, each day 17,000 young children still died in 2013 from preventable illnesses, including pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria.

Further, malnutrition is a contributing factor to approximately one third of all child deaths. In addressing this global health challenge, it is important to note that a focus on child survival alone ignores ...