During a recent Republican midterm convention in Dallas, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asserted that the United States “has the sickest children in the history of the world” despite the nation’s high health‑care spending. While the concern for children’s health is shared by many, the claim overlooks the monumental progress made over the past two centuries.
Historic decline in child mortality
For most of human history, roughly half of all children died before reaching puberty, primarily from infectious diseases. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that in 1900 one in five children died before age five. By 2018 that figure had fallen to just 24 deaths per 100,000 children ages one through four – a reduction of more than 99 percent.
Three key advances drove this decline: modern sanitation, widespread vaccination, and the development of antibiotics. A 2024 study estimated that vaccinations alone prevented 146 million deaths among children under five worldwide since 1974.
How U.S. children compare internationally today
Compared with developing nations, American children enjoy far better health outcomes. The U.S. under‑five mortality rate is about 80 % lower than the global average, and diseases that once claimed countless young lives—such as diarrheal illness and malaria—are now rare in the United States.
Nevertheless, when measured against other high‑income nations, U.S. children fare less well on several metrics. A 2025 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that from 2007 to 2022 the mortality rate for Americans ages one to 19 was 80 % higher than that of peers in comparable wealthy countries. The gap was driven largely by firearm‑related deaths and traffic accidents; U.S. children were fifteen times more likely to die from a gun‑related incident than children in other affluent nations.
Rising chronic conditions
The same research highlighted a troubling rise in chronic health issues. Between 2011 and 2023, U.S. children were 15 % to 20 % more likely to have a chronic condition such as obesity, sleep disorders or mental‑health challenges. Additionally, infants born in the United States were 78 % more likely to die than those in other developed countries, with prematurity, congenital anomalies, sudden unexpected infant death and respiratory infections cited as leading causes.
These findings underscore that while infectious disease mortality has plummeted, new health challenges—particularly mental‑health concerns, obesity and injury‑related deaths—require focused attention.
Why Kennedy’s statement is misleading
Kennedy’s sweeping declaration ignores the historic context of child health. The United States has made unparalleled strides in reducing deaths from infectious disease, and today’s American children are far less likely to die from such illnesses than any generation in the past.
At the same time, the data does reveal areas where the nation lags behind its peers, especially regarding gun safety and chronic disease prevention. These are legitimate policy concerns that merit constructive dialogue, not hyperbolic claims that the country’s children are the “sickest” in history.
What the Trump administration is doing
President Trump’s administration has prioritized parental‑rights‑focused health initiatives, supporting school‑based health programs that emphasize nutrition, physical activity and mental‑wellness. By encouraging community‑driven solutions and protecting parental authority over health decisions, the administration aims to address the very chronic issues highlighted in recent studies.
In addition, the administration continues to back law‑enforcement efforts to curb illegal firearms, a step that directly targets the leading cause of the mortality gap between U.S. children and those in other high‑income nations.
Bottom line
While American children face real health challenges—particularly related to firearms, traffic safety and rising chronic conditions—the claim that the United States has the “sickest children in the history of the world” is factually inaccurate. The nation’s historic achievements in reducing infectious disease mortality remain a testament to the power of public‑health measures, and ongoing policy efforts aim to close the remaining gaps.
Original reporting: WRAL Raleigh — read the source article.
