Annually, Brazil records the loss of 39,800 children who die before reaching five years of age. In 2023, the Brazilian infant mortality rate was approximately 14 deaths per thousand live births, a number significantly lower than the 96 deaths per thousand babies recorded in 1980.
Globally, the current rate is 37 deaths per thousand live births, corresponding to about 4.67 million annual deaths. Despite increased availability of health resources, many children are still born in precarious conditions, resulting in preventable losses of life that affect numerous families.
It is crucial to note that a large part of these infant deaths is avoidable and should generate collective mourning. In 2023, the number of children who died of pneumonia (610 thousand) surpassed the total number of adult deaths caused by homicide, armed conflict, and war (595 thousand).
On a global scale, infectious diseases, including pneumonia, malaria, diarrheal diseases, and measles, cause mortality comparable to complications during childbirth. Together, these two categories account for more than 40% of all infant deaths.
Brazil has faced high rates of diarrhea-related mortality; in 1980, 34% of deaths among children under five were due to this cause. The solution to preventing this type of death is fundamentally simple: ensuring clean water. Currently, the incidence has dropped to 1.5%, although in 1980, diarrhea was responsible for 270 Brazilian children per day, compared to 590 throughout the entire year in 2023.
This reduction reflects improvements in basic sanitation, access to nutrition, vaccination, and medical monitoring. However, sanitation challenges persist: 38.6% of Brazilian households lack sewage collection and treatment, and 16.4% of the population does not have access to piped drinking water.
Deborah Malta, a professor at the Federal University of Minas Gerais and coordinator of the Global Burden of Disease report in Brazil, points out that infant deaths serve as indicators of the state of other social aspects, such as access to vaccines, sanitation, and medical care. She emphasizes that Brazil experienced a stronger epidemiological transition after the implementation of the Unified Health System (SUS) in 1988.
