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Study: U.S. Kids Dying More Often Than Kids In Other Wealthy Nations

The United States might be the richest country in the world, but a new study shows children born here are more likely to die before they reach adulthood than kids born into other wealthy, democratic countries.

In fact, they have a 70 percent greater chance of death here. What’s behind this stark reality?

Researchers at Johns Hopkins looked at child mortality in the U.S. and 19 similar countries like Australia, Germany, Canada and the United Kingdom.

And they found that children in U.S. are dying more often than in any of these other wealthy, developed nations.

This has to do with a lot — gun violence, health care, child poverty. I spoke with researcher Ashish Thakrar more about the causes behind these numbers.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.