On Jan. 10, 2023, the WHO announced that an estimated 5 million children died beforecoronavirus_omicron_illustrationeir fifth birthday and another 2.1 million children and youth aged between 5ﾖ24 years lost their lives in 2021, according to the latest estimates released by the United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation.

In a separate report also released today, the group found that 1.9 million babies were stillborn during the same period. Tragically, many of these deaths could have been prevented with equitable access and high-quality maternal, newborn, child and adolescent health care.