Children’s Health Report 2024

On 5th February 2024, the Academy of Medical Sciences produced a report titled “Prioritising early childhood to promote the nation’s health, wellbeing and prosperity“.

In this report, the AMS says that

“Major health issues like infant mortality, obesity and tooth decay are not only damaging the nation’s youngest citizens and their future, but also its economic prosperity, with the cost of inaction estimated to be at least £16 billion a year. In recent years, progress on child health in the UK has stalled”.

• Infant survival rates (infant mortality) are worse than in 60% of similar countries, disproportionately affecting the poorest parts of the country. The UK ranks 30th out of 49 OECD countries for infant mortality.
• The number of children living in extreme poverty tripled between 2019 and 2022.
• Demand for children’s mental health services surge.
• Over a fifth of five-year-old children are overweight or obese, with those living in the most deprived areas twice as likely to be obese than in affluent areas.
• One-in-four is affected by tooth decay.
• Vaccination rates have plunged below World Health Organization safety thresholds, threatening outbreaks. Issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Increased cost of living and climate change compound widespread inequality and are likely to make early years health in the UK even worse. 

The Conservative government of course rejects this saying “We’ve taken significant action to improve children’s health, both now and in the long term“.

• Guardian report here.
• Independent report here.

The Health Action Research Group reports (2022) on Improving Childrens Health. Their report on Improving Childrens Mental Health is here.

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The declining quality of nutrition among children was cited as a key reason for the return of diseases such as rickets in the UK (SN 54) (“I regularly see rickets’: diseases of Victorian-era poverty return to UK” Guardian 23 December 2017)