Khaberni - Today (Thursday), the Bill Gates Foundation warned of a new global health crisis, expecting about 200,000 additional children to die before reaching the age of five this year compared to 2024, due to a decline in international aid which undermines years of progress in protecting children’s lives.
Foundation chairman, Bill Gates, explained that this spike would be the first rise in preventable child deaths since the start of the century, and could increase the death toll from 4.6 million in 2024 to 4.8 million children this year, after these deaths had nearly halved since the year 2000.
The annual report of the foundation, titled "Guardians of Goals," indicated that aid cuts began in the United States at the beginning of the year but quickly extended to major donors such as Britain and Germany, leading to a global health funding decrease of about 27% compared to 2024.
The report confirmed that these cuts, alongside factors such as increasing debts and weak health systems in some countries, are the main reasons behind the decline in progress made in protecting children’s lives. It warned that continuing this trend might lead to child mortality rates ranging between 12 and 16 million children by 2045, according to estimates by the International Health Institute at the University of Washington.
Bill Gates called on governments, institutions, and individuals to intensify efforts and invest in effective solutions, such as vaccination programs and primary health care, to ensure the protection of children and reduce mortality. He affirmed that the world is at a crossroads, between maintaining past achievements or reverting to grim figures in child mortality.
