UN reports global child mortality rate has dropped by 1/2 since 1990 but more is needed.

[pampango]

Child Mortality Falling, U.N. Says, but Not Fast Enough

The global mortality rate for children younger than 5 has dropped by nearly half since 1990, the United Nations said Tuesday in an annual report on progress aimed at ensuring child survival, but the decline still falls short of meeting the organization’s goal of a two-thirds reduction by next year. Without accelerated improvements in reducing health risks to young children, the report said, that goal would not be reached until 2026, 11 years behind schedule.

Nearly all of the countries with the highest mortality rates are in Africa, the report said, and two countries that are among the world’s most populous — India and Nigeria — account for nearly a third of all deaths among children younger than 5.

A collaboration of Unicef, other United Nations agencies and the World Bank, the report provides a barometer of health care and nutrition in every country. A child mortality rate can be a potent indicator of other elements in a country’s basic quality of life.

The report showed that the mortality rate for children younger than 5, the most vulnerable period, fell to 46 deaths per 1,000 live births last year, from 90 per 1,000 births in 1990. It also showed that the gap in mortality rates between the richest and poorest households had fallen in all regions over most of the past two decades, except for sub-Saharan Africa.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/17/health/child-mortality-falling-un-says-but-not-fast-enough.html

Great to see progress in one aspect of global health. More needs to be done in minimizing child mortality and in other areas of global health.