Universal Children’s Day 2015

2015 MARKS A significant year for international development as the world has united to agree a new global agenda called the Sustainable Development Goals.

One crucial target set by these goals aims to "end preventable deaths of newborns and children under-5 years of age" by 2030. We highlight this target today on Universal Children’s Day because no child should die in the 21st century from causes that are preventable – causes like pneumonia and diarrhoea, which account for over 20% of deaths in children under-5 years of age. This is simply unacceptable.

And yet there is hope. Between 1990 and 2013, the number of deaths in children under-5 was cut in half from 12.3 million to 6.3 million. In the past 2 decades, almost 100 million children’s lives were saved, including 24 million newborn babies. This tells us that our new global target is not overly ambitious. It is not unachievable. Through renewed commitment and global effort, we can end the preventable deaths of newborns and children under-5 years of age in our lifetime!

The generous support from the Irish public has already saved lives and with continued help, we can put an end to children dying needlessly for good.

For more information on World Vision Ireland’s infant and maternal health programming and how you might support our work, please click here: https://www.worldvision.ie/aim