At least 60 out of every 1,000 children under the age of five die each year in Mozambique due to various preventable childhood diseases, the National Institute of Health (INS) revealed, highlighting the country’s ongoing public health challenges.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of the Global Forum on Innovation and Action for Immunisation and Child Survival – 2025, which takes place from Tuesday to Thursday in Maputo, the INS Director-General, Dr Eduardo Samo Gudo, said:
“Between 1997 and 2023, Mozambique reduced its child mortality rate from 201 to 60 per 1,000 live births. This is historic. Never before has the chance of a child surviving beyond five years improved so significantly in our country.”
Despite these gains, Dr Samo Gudo stressed that much remains to be done. “We are not satisfied with 60 deaths per 1,000 live births. The health sector is not satisfied. Multiple actions are still being implemented to ensure Mozambique reaches Sustainable Development Goal 3.2,” which aims to reduce child mortality to 25 deaths per 1,000 live births by 2030.
To that end, the government is revitalising the national health system by increasing health facilities, training maternal and child health specialists, and enhancing diagnostics for childhood diseases such as malaria, diarrhoea, pneumonia, sepsis and obstetric complications.
The Global Forum brings together more than 300 delegates from 29 countries, including ministers and deputy ministers of health, scientists, academics, and representatives from civil society organisations.
The summit is jointly organised by the Ministries of Health of Mozambique and Sierra Leone, with support from the Government of Spain, Fundación “la Caixa”, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and UNICEF.
The summit will serve as a platform to discuss scientific solutions and to push for renewed global political commitment to reduce child mortality across the world.
Between 1990 and 2023, the number of deaths of children under five dropped from 12.8 million to 4.8 million annually globally – around a 60 per cent reduction, which means at least 160 million children spared from death during that period.
The Mozambican expert warned of a worrying progress slowdown since 2015, which puts at least 60 African countries at risk of not meeting the 2030 child mortality target.
Globally, the under-five mortality rate stands at 37 per 1,000 live births, but Africa bears the highest burden, with an average of 67 deaths per 1,000 born children.
