Giving Compass' Take:

• The World Health Organization reveals new alarming mortality estimates that show how many millions of children under the age of 15 died in 2017, with projections through 2030.

• What can international aid groups do to make an impact in infant and child health? Making sure vaccines and other preventative medical care are accessible to all would be a start.

• Learn how to plan a successful vaccine program rollout.

An estimated 6.3 million children under 15 years of age died in 2017, or 1 every 5 seconds, mostly of preventable causes, according to new mortality estimates released by WHO, UNICEF, the United Nations Population Division and the World Bank Group.

The vast majority of these deaths — 5.4 million — occur in the first 5 years of life, with newborns accounting for around half of the deaths.

“Without urgent action, 56 million children under 5 will die from now until 2030 — half of them newborns,” said Laurence Chandy, UNICEF Director of Data, Research and Policy. “We have made remarkable progress to save children since 1990, but millions are still dying because of who they are and where they are born. With simple solutions like medicines, clean water, electricity, and vaccines, we can change that reality for every child.”

Globally, in 2017, half of all deaths under 5 years of age took place in sub-Saharan Africa, and another 30%  in Southern Asia. In sub-Saharan Africa, 1 in 13 children died before their fifth birthday. In high-income countries, that number was 1 in 185.

Read the full article about the new estimates for worldwide child mortality at the World Health Organization.