Child Mortality Rate Falls By 50 Per Cent

Child mortality rate has fallen by more than 50 per cent since 1990, a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), has indicated. The two bodies say 25 years ago, 12.7 million children under five died but this year the figure was projected to drop below six million for the first time. But aid agencies warn that huge challenges remain, reports the BBC. They point out that the UN target of reducing child mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015 will not be met. The rate fell by 53 per cent over this period, the report stated. "We have to acknowledge tremendous global progress," said UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Geeta Rao Gupta, adding, "But the far too large number of children still dying from preventable causes before their fifth birthday... should impel us to redouble our efforts to do what we know needs to be done." Luxemburg and Nordic countries, including Iceland, Finland and Norway, are among those with the lowest deaths among under-fives with less than three per 1,000 births. Oil-rich Angola has the highest rate of child deaths up to 254 per 1,000 births, followed by Somalia, Chad and Central African Republic. The report says that 16,000 children under the age of five still die every day. Many become victims of preventable illnesses such as pneumonia, diarrhoea, malaria, and almost half the deaths are linked to malnutrition, the document says. The greatest risk is during the first few days after birth - 45 per cent of all deaths occur before the child is a month old. The report also highlights the stark inequality of life chances for the world's children. It says that those born in sub-Saharan Africa have a 1-in-12 chance of dying before their fifth birthday. In wealthy nations, the risk is 1-in-147.

Source: Daily Graphic