Child Health: A fair start in life >> Inequities in child survival achieving substantial improvements in nutrition – a target within Goal 2 – will be key to boosting child survival rates. half of all deaths of children under age 5 are attributable to undernutrition, and large disparities exist in related indicators such as stunting. an analysis of 87 countries with recent available data shows that stunting rates among the poorest children are more than double those among the 42 richest. in West and Central africa, progress on stunting has been slow, with less than a 25 per cent reduction between 1990 and 2014. and in over one third of low-income countries with available trend data, the gap between the richest and poorest households in stunting reduction has been widening.43 household wealth is one determinant of a child’s chance to survive, but maternal education is also a strong predictor. across much of South asia and sub-Saharan africa, children with mothers who received no education are almost three times as likely to die before age 5 as children of mothers with secondary education.44 education enables women to delay and space births, secure access to maternal and child health care and seek treatment for children when they fall ill. if all mothers achieved secondary education, there would be 1.5 million fewer annual deaths of children under age 5 in sub-Saharan africa and 1.3 million fewer 45 in South asia. Child marriage and women’s reproductive health management also influence child mortality patterns. While child marriage rates are decreasing, each year about 46 15 million girls are married before the age of 18. These girls represent a highly vulnerable group: They are denied their childhood, face limited opportunities for education and often begin childbearing too early. Girls in the poorest 20 per cent of 47 the population, as well as those living in rural areas, face the greatest risks. in africa, the level of child marriage among the poorest has remained unchanged since 1990.48 A smiling boy with his mother, in Bangladesh. © UNICEF/UNI78184/Siddique The STaTe of The World’S Children 2016 16