The government has reported a 78 percent reduction in the child mortality rate over the past 25 years, attributing the progress to nationwide initiatives in vaccination, nutrition, and child health.

Dr. Abhiyan Gautam, Head of the Child Health and Immunization Branch at the Department of Health Services, said that the mortality rate of children under the age of five dropped from 118 per 1,000 live births in 1996 to just over 26 in 2023.

“This is a major achievement for the government. We are now working toward meeting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of reducing under-five mortality to fewer than 20 per 1,000 live births by 2030,” he said.

The government’s child health programs have also significantly reduced infant and neonatal mortality rates. The infant mortality rate declined from 78 per 1,000 live births in 1996 to 23 in 2023, while the neonatal mortality rate dropped from 50 to just over 16 per 1,000 live births during the same period.

Nepal's efforts to combat child mortality began with the launch of the National Immunization Program in 1977, targeting vaccine-preventable diseases in children under five. Currently, the program administers nine different vaccines from birth to age five. Dr. Gautam noted that vaccination has played a crucial role in reducing illness and death caused by various infectious diseases.

Nepal began focusing on childhood disease control in 1983, initially addressing diarrhea and expanding to respiratory infections by 1987. The Community-Based Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (CB-IMCI) program was piloted in Mahottari district in 1997 and rolled out nationwide by 1999.

However, the program struggled to reduce neonatal mortality. To address this, the government launched the Community-Based Newborn Care Program in 2009. Further strengthening the approach, the Integrated Management of Newborn and Childhood Illnesses (IMNCI) program and a free neonatal care package were introduced in 2016, focusing on newborn and pediatric care at health facilities.