Abstract
Child mortality in developing countries reduced markedly in the 1970s to early 1990s, but during the past decade the improvements have decelerated. More than 10 million children under 5 years of age die annually, mainly in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, and about 200 million people are undernourished. In a review article in this issue of Scandinavian Journal of Nutrition, Lars Åke Persson presents the current situation, reviews recent scientific publications and discusses the impact of undernutrition on child deaths. Direct causes of death include bronchopneumonia, diarrhoeal diseases, diseases of the newborn, malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS, but undernutrition is often an underlying cause. Effective intervention programmes are well known and must be reintroduced, e.g. information on and support for exclusive breast-feeding, safe supplementary feeding, zinc and vitamin A supplements and the use of oral rehydration therapy. All governments, as well as international and non-governmental organizations, are responsible for promoting and supporting infant nutrition. The cost is affordable.