Most children and adolescents in the WHO European Region enjoy a high standard of health and well-being. However, disparities in child health between and within countries persist. The Region includes countries with the lowest infant and child mortality rates in the world, but mortality in countries with the highest rate for children under 5 years is up to 20 times higher than that in countries with the lowest rate. Every year, too many children in the Region die before the age of 5 – 52% of them in the first month of life.