Professor Steve Turner
President, RCPCH
This year’s State of Child Health report exposes worsening outcomes and inequalities across the UK. It calls for urgent investment in child health services to prevent neglect and health risks.
Every child in the UK deserves the best possible start in life. Right now, too many are being denied it.
Health issues and inequities faced by children
The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) State of Child Health 2026 report paints a stark picture: on almost every measure that matters — such as infant mortality, obesity, mental health, dental decay, immunisation rates — outcomes for children in the UK are stalling or getting worse. These declines are not shared equally; children growing up in poverty, in the most deprived communities and from certain ethnic backgrounds are most impacted.
This downward trend isn’t inevitable. Instead, it is a direct consequence of more than a decade of underinvestment in the community-based services that keep children well and failure to provide a healthy environment for all children to thrive in. From health visiting and school nursing to access to healthy foods, there is more that can and should be done. Paediatricians on the frontline are seeing the results every day, with more children arriving in clinics and emergency departments with problems that should have been prevented.
Every child should have the chance to grow up
happy, healthy and well
Investing in children early and focusing on prevention
Paediatricians know how to make children healthy. This includes investment in the early years, tackling child poverty and ensuring children’s health and wellbeing are prioritised by politicians. If we raise the healthiest generation, NHS costs will be reduced, and all aspects of society will benefit.
That’s why RCPCH is calling on the Government to put children’s health at the centre of policymaking. We need to collect better-quality data on child health and wellbeing and commit to meaningful targets to improve their health and reduce inequalities. Moreover, we must address the longstanding inequity in spending between child and adult health services alongside a funded, long-term child health workforce strategy.
Every child should have the chance to grow up happy, healthy and well. The evidence is clear. The moment to act is now.
