Mortality rate for children under 5 years of age in China from 1996 to 2006

OBJECTIVES: To study the change in mortality rate for children under 5 years of age in China over the past decade and to evaluate Chinas progress in achieving Millennium Development Goal 4. STUDY DESIGN: Population-based descriptive study. METHODS: A population-based survey was conducted through a nationwide multi-level surveillance network. The mortality rate and the leading causes of death for children under 5 years of age were analysed. RESULTS: The mortality rate for children under 5 years of age in China dropped by 54.2% between 1996 and 2006 (from 45.0 per 1000 livebirths to 20.6). During this period deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhoea dropped by 69.4% and 69.7% respectively. The proportion of deaths due to pneumonia dropped from 23.4% in 1996 to 15.6% in 2006 and the proportion of deaths due to diarrhoea dropped from 5.6% in 1996 to 3.7% in 2006. CONCLUSION: The mortality rate for children under 5 years of age in China dropped remarkably from 1996 to 2006. This reduction was mainly due to a significant decrease in deaths due to pneumonia and diarrhoea. Based on the survey results China should be able to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4. Copyright (c) 2011 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.