Why Three Child Killer Diseases Rose Globally This Year

Three child-killer diseases – dengue, cholera, and mpox –
witnessed major resurgences in 2024 fuelled partly by
climate crises and conflict, with these illnesses likely to
cause significant strains on communities in 2025 without
more focused global attention, said Save the
Children.

More than 13,600 people, including children,
are suspected or confirmed to have died from these three
diseases this year, with cases of dengue and mpox reaching
record highs. While there was a slight global decline in
cases of cholera, the number of fatal cases of the virus
jumped 126% from 2023.

It was a horror year for
dengue fever in 2024, with cases of the
mosquito-borne virus reaching the highest number on record
at 13.3 million – more than double the 6.5 million cases in
2023 which was itself a record
high [1]. Increased urbanisation and changes in climate
and temperatures have fuelled the mosquitoes that spread the
virus. The World
Health Organization estimates that 4 billion people are
currently at risk of dengue and related viruses and this
will rise to 5 billion by 2050.

There were nearly half
a million cases of cholera this year,
with 3,432 deaths recorded by the end of September, when
most recent data was available [2]. While the number of
cases in 2024 is 16% lower than last year, there has been a
126%
spike in deaths, according to the WHO. The increase in
mortality is likely due to the location of the outbreaks in
conflict-affected areas where access to healthcare is
severely compromised, and regions experiencing flooding that
has damaged critical infrastructure.

This year saw a
major increase in cases and fatalities from the mpox
virus, which was declared a public health emergency
of international concern in August 2024 by both the World
Health Organization and the Africa Centre for Disease
Control. This followed a surge of mpox infections in the
Democratic Republic of Congo and surrounding countries in
Africa, with a major portion of cases and deaths being
children, and a new circulating variety (known as a
‘clade’) of mpox a particular concern to
children.

Beauty, 17, lives with her sister
and her parents in an informal settlement in Lusaka, Zambia.
Her community was hit by a major cholera outbreak earlier
this year. Beauty said:

“Cholera, this
current outbreak, has really impacted me and my family
because my father had to stop work because of the outbreak,
and my mother – she’s a teacher – she also had to stop
work for the same issue. It was challenging for us in terms
of finances and surviving, but, to God’s grace, we’re
surviving. It’s important to have access to clean water
because most of the diseases that happen, they happen
because people drink contaminated water. So, if you drink
clean water…then you can prevent yourself from getting
diseases like cholera.”

Dr Revati Phalkey,
Global Health and Nutrition Director,
said:

“Currently, about half of the world’s
population is not fully covered by essential, quality,
affordable health services – denying them their right to
health committed as part of universal health coverage
ambitions. Health systems are under enormous pressure to
deliver universal health coverage with the majority of
countries experiencing worsening or no significant change in
service coverage since the launch of the sustainable
development goals in 2015.

“We need greater global
investments to build strong health systems that are able to
deliver essential health services especially vaccines and
essential medicines while responding to global health
emergencies, including emerging issues like mpox.

“It
is time for governments and the international community to
step up and ensure all children are protected against
disease and have access to adequate health services when
they need them and where they need them. Every child has the
right to survive and thrive and it is our collective
responsibility to deliver on this.”

While these
headline grabbing illnesses saw rapid increases in cases or
death rates in 2024, pneumonia remains the leading
infectious cause of death among children under 5, killing
about 500,000 children a year.

However, new estimates
from the Global
Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study
(GBD) show that the number of children dying from
pneumonia dropped sharply from 693,000 in 2019 to 502,000 in
2021, the lowest number ever recorded. This 28% reduction is
being attributed to the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and
underscores the power of preventing the spread of infection.
That said, the impact of the climate crisis is likely to
increase respiratory diseases such as pneumonia once again,
affecting children the most impacted by inequality and
poverty.

Meanwhile, children are particularly
vulnerable to dengue fever because their immune systems are
weaker than adults and they tend to play outside where there
is less protection against the mosquitos. Children under
five are at particular risk of developing dehydration and
shock from dengue if they contract the illness, and children
are most impacted if the illness incapacitates or kills
their parents and other caregivers.

Mpox causes fever,
rash and lesions all over the body, severe headaches and
fatigue, with some children developing respiratory problems
and difficulty swallowing. In severe cases, mpox can lead to
sepsis, a life-threatening response to infection that
requires immediate specialist medical
attention.

Cholera takes a heavier toll on young
children, especially those under the age of 5 who are at
higher risk of severe dehydration and death during cholera
outbreaks.

Around the world, Save the Children
provides public healthcare for children and their families,
including treatment for diseases like dengue, cholera and
mpox, and works with schools and communities to improve
awareness on how to prevent
infection.

NOTES:

• [1] Total number of
  dengue-related deaths globally in 2024 – 9600 see [2]; Total
  number of cholera and acute water diarrhea deaths in 2024 –
  4018 see [3]; Total number of Mpox deaths in 2024 – 57 see
  [4]; Total number of deaths of the three diseases in 2024 –
  13,675.
• [2] According to the WHO Global Dengue
  Surveillance, since the beginning of 2024, over 13.3 million
  dengue cases and over 9600 dengue-related deaths have been
  reported globally. https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/dengue_global/
• [3]
  According to the WHO, from 1 January to 27 October 2024, a
  cumulative total of 486 760 cholera and acute watery
  diarrhoea cases and 4018 deaths were reported from 33
  countries across five WHO regions. While the number of cases
  reported in October 2024 is 42% lower than the same period
  in 2023, the number of deaths has increased by 54% –
  reflecting severe response challenges in outbreak settings [
  https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/multi-country-outbreak-of-cholera–external-situation-report–20—20-november-2024]
• [4]
  According to the WHO, as of 1 December 2024, in Africa there
  were 13 171 confirmed cases of Mpox, including 57 deaths
  reported by 20 countries. https://worldhealthorg.shinyapps.io/mpx_global/

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