It is now more than a decade since world leaders adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
their associated targets. In that time, substantial progress has been made in reducing child and maternal
mortality, improving nutrition, reducing morbidity and
mortality due to HIV infection, tuberculosis and malaria, and increasing access to improved drinking-water
sources. These current trends provide a firm basis for
the intensified collective actions and expansion of successful approaches now needed to overcome the challenges posed by multiple crises and large inequalities.
Although progress in settings with the highest rates of
mortality has been accelerated in recent years, large
variations in health status persist both between and
within countries.
Childhood malnutrition is the underlying cause of an
estimated 35% of all deaths among children under five
years of age. T