Child Mortality Rate Drastically Falls, UNICEF Says

The United Nations Children’s Fund said that the global child mortality rate has fallen dramatically in the past 20 years.

UNICEF said that an estimated 6.9 million children died before the age of 5 in 2011, compared with 12 million deaths in 1990, or around a 40 percent reduction in the rate.

While the numbers are encouraging, more work is needed to reduce child mortality, the agency said.

Some of the reduction was triggered by poorer countries becoming more wealthy, but UNICEF said aid that focused on immunization against common diseases and the promotion of breastfeeding caused a downswing in mortality.

“The global decline in under-five mortality is a significant success that is a testament to the work and dedication of many, including governments, donors, agencies and families,” said Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, in the report.

In 2011, around half of the deaths that occurred among children under the age of five were in India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and China, UNICEF said.

“But there is also unfinished business: Millions of children under five are still dying each year from largely preventable causes for which there are proven, affordable interventions,” Lake said.

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