UK public may be confused over global child health issues

Many people in the UK are unclear about the most pressing global threats to child health, a new survey has discovered.

Research, conducted by YouGov on behalf of Save the Children, revealed that over a third of UK residents believed HIV/AIDS to be the biggest killer of children worldwide, while 13 per cent identified malaria as the main cause of child mortality.

However, Save the Children has identified pneumonia and diarrhoea as the principal contributors to global child mortality rates.

Adrian Lovett, director of campaigns and communications at Save the Children, said: "This clearly comes as a shock to most people. We've all suffered from diarrhoea - it's a common childhood problem. For us it's unpleasant, but it's not a killer.

"Yet children in poor countries are dying of it. But for the want of a few pennies to buy the essential re-hydration salts they need to replace the nutrients they lose while ill, they could easily survive," he added.

Figures released by the World Health Organisation last year revealed that over 1.16 million children die each year in the first 28 days of life in sub-Saharan Africa alone.

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