[Children who die--is the millennium goal within reach?].

Background: At the beginning of the new millennium the world's leaders agreed on eight MDG's (Millennium Development Goals). This paper addresses the fourth goal: The number of children who die before their fifth birthday should be reduced by two thirds from 1990 to 2015.

Material And Methods: The article is based on literature identified through a non-systematic search in Medline and publications from WHO and UNICEF available on the internet.

Results: From 1990 and up to now childhood mortality has decreased from about 90 to 70 per 1000 live birth. In 2007, 9.2 million children died, 97 % of them in the 68 poorest countries. Six of ten deaths are caused by infectious diseases.

Interpretation: Millennium developmental goal number 4 is not within reach. Despite notable progress, the rate is too slow to achieve the target within time. Many children could have been saved with basic preventive and treatment measures. Challenges in the years up to 2015 are, among others, to reach the poorest people, to coordinate targeted actions for the best possible effect and to maintain the focus both from donors and recipients.