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UN:
CHILD DEATHS WORLDWIDE FALL BELOW 10 MILLION A YEAR FOR FIRST TIME, NEW UN
FIGURES SHOW: 13/9/2007 (MaximsNews.com, U.N.)
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UNITED NATIONS - / www.MaximsNews.com@
U.N./
- 13 September 2007 – Child
deaths worldwide have reached a record low, falling below 10 million per year
for the first time to 9.7 million, down from almost 13 million in 1990,
according to new figures released today by the United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF), thanks mainly to campaigns to combat measles and malaria and promote
exclusive breast-feeding.
“This is an historic
moment,” UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman said. “More children are
surviving today than ever before. Now we must build on this public health
success to push for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals,” she
added of the ambitious targets set by the UN Millennium Summit of 2000, which
include slashing by two thirds the mortality rate among children under five by
2015.
Of the 9.7 million
children who perish each year, 4.8 million are from Sub-Saharan Africa and 3.1
million from South Asia. In the developing world, child mortality is
considerably higher among children living in rural areas and in the poorest
households. In developed countries there are just six deaths for every 1,000
live births.
The Latin American and
Caribbean region is on track to achieve the child mortality Millennium
Development Goal, with 27 deaths on average for every 1,000 live births,
compared to 55 per thousand in 1990.
There has been
significant progress in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Under-five mortality has
declined 29 per cent between 2000 and 2004 in Malawi. In Ethiopia, Mozambique,
Namibia, Niger, Rwanda and Tanzania child mortality rates have declined by more
than 20 per cent.
The highest rates of
child mortality are still found in West and Central Africa. In southern Africa
hard-won gains in child survival have been undermined by the spread of HIV and
AIDS.
Much of the progress is
the result of the widespread adoption of basic health interventions, such as
early and exclusive breast feeding, measles immunization, Vitamin A
supplementation and the use of insecticide-treated bed nets to prevent malaria.
“The new figures show
that progress is possible if we act with renewed urgency to scale-up
interventions that have proven successful,” Ms. Veneman said. “There is a
clear need for action on child survival in Africa and beyond.”
In addition, there is
unprecedented support for global health, with increased funding and expanding
partnerships, including with Governments, the private sector, international
foundations and civil society, UNICEF added.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
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