African countries make bold pledge commitments to end preventable deaths of children under five by 2030

The commitment was reached at the Forum on Innovation and Action for Immunization and Child Survival 2025, held in Maputo, Mozambique, organized by the governments of Mozambique and Sierra Leone together with partners such as the ”la Caixa” Foundation, the Government of Spain, the Gates Foundation, and UNICEF.

African countries have made bold pledges to address the continent’s maternal and child mortality crisis, as a challenging health landscape, shrinking resources, climate change and conflict threaten to reverse decades of progress in child survival.

Nearly five million children die from preventable causes before the age of five every year. Close to 60 per cent of these deaths occur in Africa, many of them caused by infectious diseases such as pneumonia, diarrhea, malaria and meningitis. This is despite the existence of proven interventions such as vaccines, which have saved 154 million lives over the past 50 years.

As the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) deadline looms, African governments are now doubling down on their commitments to end preventable deaths of children under five as envisioned by the global goals over the next five years. 

Speaking during the just concluded Innovation and Action for Immunization and Child Survival Forum 2025, which took place in Maputo, Mozambique, representatives from various African countries joined the co-hosting Governments of Mozambique and Sierra Leone and partners including the Government of Spain, the ”la Caixa” Foundation, the Gates Foundation and UNICEF in sharing their commitments to prioritize child survival.

Addressing participants during the official opening ceremony, H.E Daniel Chapo, President of the Republic of Mozambique, said: “The Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes that all children have the right to survive and grow up healthy. Mozambique has made notable progress in safeguarding these rights, reducing child mortality from 201 to 60 per 1,000 live births between 1997 and 2022. These gains are the result of decades of structural investments in maternal and child health - one of the key pillars of our Government's Five-Year Plan 2025–2029.”

Despite such promising progress, Africa is still home to the majority of countries that are off-track to meet the SDGs. Noting this, government representatives and partners called for bold action to strengthen regional leadership; establish robust accountability; address inequities and mobilize sustainable financing. 

«This is a defining moment for Africa; one of the greatest opportunities for resilience and strong African leadership. This forum brought us together not to discuss challenges, but to inspire action and save children’s lives. We have the tools, the science, the vaccines, diagnostics and treatments. What we need now is political commitment, suitable access, timely care and sustained investments across the continuum of care to enable us to accelerate progress toward the future we envision», said Austin Demby, Minister of Health, Sierra Leone. 

Stakeholders at the three-day forum also advocated for deeper, more effective multistakeholder collaboration to enhance resourcing of primary health care and integration of child survival services.

«We are calling on stakeholders to prioritize high-impact, high-return interventions alongside mobilizing resources for child survival to build sustainability and efficiency within health systems. This will translate into significant gains not just for families and communities, but for economies and the continent as a whole», said Ussene Isse, Minister of Health of Mozambique.

Acknowledging the urgent need to prioritize reaching the most vulnerable and marginalized communities with the full range of maternal health and child survival interventions across primary health care, immunization, nutrition, and disease prevention programs, countries and partners united in a joint Call to Action and commitments to:

«We have a shared responsibility to ensure that every child has a chance to live and thrive. As we make these promises to Africa’s children, we must—governments, partners and civil society— hold each other accountable for these child survival commitments at national, regional, and global levels, report progress regularly, and act decisively to close gaps in child survival so that no child dies from a preventable infectious disease», said Theo Sowa, Chairperson of the Forum.

For the detailed Call to Action and 13 Country Commitments, click here.