Together, we can end preventable child deaths
By Jennifer Alcorn
As a parent, I want my child to be healthy and happy. It’s all any parent really wants. Yet, for too many parents around the world, that fundamental desire is still out of reach.
In 2023, an estimated 4.8 million children died before the age of five, including 2.3 million newborns. The first month of life is the most fragile—and too many newborns succumb to complications of prematurity, infections, or difficulties during birth. These deaths are not inevitable. What’s frustrating is that most are preventable—through access to better health care and basic, proven interventions like vaccines and bed nets that reduce exposure to mosquitoes carrying malaria, and improved nutrition.
No parent should have to face the loss of a child—and particularly when there are known, low-cost ways to prevent many of those deaths.
The good news is that the world has made tremendous progress. Since 1990, thanks to policymakers, scientists, healthcare providers, and implementing organizations around the world, the number of childhood deaths has been cut in half—but we can’t stop there.
There is so much opportunity in this moment. We have never had more knowledge and more tools that we know can save lives.
Our community of donors at Gates Philanthropy Partners are part of this success story—and those who join us will be part of shaping what’s next.
- Since its founding in 2016, we have partnered alongside the Gates Foundation to fund partners working across a range of child health issues:
- Nutrition supplementation for moms and babies: A child’s survival starts with the health of their mother, and nutrition plays a central role. Multiple Micronutrient Supplements (MMS) for pregnant women provide essential vitamins and minerals that reduce the risks of low birthweight, preterm birth, and infant mortality. When paired with breastfeeding support and early child nutrition programs, MMS strengthens both mothers’ health and babies’ first crucial months of life. Ensuring access to these cost-effective supplements could prevent countless newborn deaths and give children the strongest possible start. Learn how we’ve contributed to the roll-out of MMS is Burkina Faso.
- Research and development for new vaccines: Vaccines remain one of the most effective tools for saving children’s lives, and the pipeline of new ones is especially promising. Recent introductions, such as the malaria vaccine and next-generation rotavirus vaccines, offer protection against diseases that have long been leading killers of children under five. These advances are designed to be more affordable and easier to deliver, particularly in low-resource settings. With support from our donors, we recently have contributed to research into a new vaccine for tuberculosis—which remains a leading killer worldwide.
- Polio eradication: Polio once paralyzed or killed hundreds of thousands of children every year, but a coordinated global campaign has driven cases down by more than 99% since 1988. What began as a massive vaccination drive has become a model for how international partnerships, local health workers, and strong surveillance systems can deliver results. Gates Philanthropy Partners has supported UNICEF and the World Health Organization distribute vaccines to some of the hardest-to-reach places—including remote regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan where wild poliovirus continues to circulate.
We will continue to invest in exactly these kinds of initiatives and innovations—tools and approaches that are affordable, scalable, and accessible to all families—because every child deserves a healthy start to life.
Join us as we continue to invest alongside the Gates Foundation to reduce preventable child deaths to zero. Together, we can accelerate the progress achieved over the past 30 years to create a healthier future.
If you have questions about ways to partner with us, please contact us at [email protected].