Strategies for Improving Global Child Survival

Thursday, July 15, at 9 a.m. (EDT) With millions of preventable deaths of children under 5 years of age each year, the challenges are rooted in economic, cultural, and geographic barriers – half of all child deaths occur in Africa and 42% in Asia. Child mortality is not only a key indicator of a nation’s health, but is also a broad reflection of a nation’s development. This fact was a driving force in the creation of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals, which identified child mortality, and its closely related goals of maternal health and infectious diseases, as three of the eight top priorities for the world. In response to this global health burden, efforts are underway to increase access to vaccines, clean water, better nutrition, and other resources that will ultimately benefit the health of children around the globe.

This session of Public Health Grand Rounds reviewed progress in recent decades, assessed our continued challenges, and discussed new and important strategies aimed at increasing child survival throughout the world.

Presented By

Kevin DeCock, MD, F.R.C.P., Director, Center for Global Health (CDC)
Cynthia Whitney, MD, MPH, Chief of the Respiratory Diseases Branch, Division of Bacterial Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (CDC)
Robert Quick, MD, MPH, Medical Epidemiologist, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (CDC)
Brent Burkholder, MD, MA, Director, Global Immunization Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases (CDC)

Discussants
Nancy Binkin, MD, MPH, Chief, Policy and Evidence Unit, UNICEF

Facilitated By

Tanja Popovic, MD, PhD, Scientific Director, Public Health Grand Rounds
Shane Joiner, Communication Manager, Public Health Grand Rounds