Publish dateSaturday 14 September 2013 - 11:48
Story Code : 74484
One under-five child died in every 5 seconds in the world
In 2012, approximately 6.6 million children worldwide – 18,000 children per day – died before reaching their fifth birthday, according to a new report released today by UNICEF, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Bank Group and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs/Population Division. This is roughly half the number of under-fives who died in 1990, when more than 12 million children died.

“This trend is a positive one. Millions of lives have been saved," said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director. "And we can do still better. Most of these deaths can be prevented, using simple steps that many countries have already put in place – what we need is a greater sense of urgency.”

The leading causes of death among children aged less than five years include pneumonia, prematurity, birth asphyxia, diarrhoea and malaria. Globally, about 45 per cent of under-five deaths are linked to undernutrition.

About half of under-five deaths occur in only five countries: China, Democratic Republic of the Congo, India, Nigeria, and Pakistan. India (22 per cent) and Nigeria (13 per cent) together account for more than one-third of all deaths of children under the age of five. (Unicef)
Source : Afghan Voice Agency (AVA), International Service
https://avapress.com/vdci55ay.t1a5v2lict.html
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