All over the world, children’s chances of seeing their fifth birthday depends on where they are born, the wealth of their parents and their ethnic identity factors that for them are purely a matter of chance.

If current trends continue, children drawing the shortest straw in this lottery of birth will continue to die from preventable causes for generation to come.

Giving every child a fair chance in life is a defining challenge for our generation, and must be tackled head-on.

The countries which have improved equitably have, on average, progressed 6 percent faster over the course of a decade than those who have not.