Child deaths worldwide projected to rise, reversing decades of progress amid global health funding cuts

A nurse assistant administers a malaria vaccine to a baby at Apac General Hospital in Uganda in April 2025. Data from the World Health Organization shows that children under 5 in Africa made up a substantial share of the 597,000 malaria deaths in 2023. Hajarah Nalwadda/Getty Images

The number of children who die before age 5 is expected to rise for the first time this century, amid sweeping cuts to global health funding by high-income countries, according to a new report from the Gates Foundation.

Child mortality around the world is projected to reach an estimated 4.8 million deaths in 2025, an increase of 200,000 preventable deaths compared with last year, the Gates Foundation said in its new “Goalkeepers” report , which tracks global progress toward the United Nations Sustainable