Mortality in children (10 million annually) remains unacceptably high. Children can be saved by improving medical technology (MT), by improving delivery and utilization (DU) of the technology or by a combination of both. (1) We estimated that MT could reduce child mortality by 22%. This reduction is 1/3 of what could be achieved if DU of existing technologies were adequate. (2) We found a serious discrepancy between research needs and research funding: a mere 3% of research grants funded by NIH and the Gates Foundation were directed toward DU; 97% were related toward MT, with its relatively low potential to save lives. (3) We estimated the millions of lives currently saved by public health programs. Conclusion: effectively implemented programs could save millions of lives. Statistics plays a key role in the design and evaluation of effective programs.