About 7,000 newborns die every day around the world, the United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) has said.
The figure, 41 percent, represents a 5 percent increase compared to those recorded in 2000, when newborn deaths were at 41 percent.
In that period however, the number of children dying before age five reduces significantly, from the 9.9 million in 2000 to 5.6 million in 2016.
“The lives of 50 million children under-five have been saved since 2000, a testament to the serious commitment by governments and development partners to tackle preventable child deaths,” UNICEF’s chief of health Stefan Swartling Peterson said.
He warned that without a greater effort to stop babies from dying the day they are born, or days after their birth, this progress will remain incomplete.
“We have the knowledge and technologies that are required – we just need to take them where they are most needed,” he said.
Tim Evans, Senior Director of Health Nutrition and Population at the World Bank Group said that it is unconscionable that in 2017, pregnancy and child birth are still life-threatening conditions for women.
“The best measure of success for universal health coverage is that every mother should not only be able to access health care easily, but that it should be quality, affordable care that will ensure a healthy and productive life for her children and family,” he said.
Despite progress, large disparities in child survival still exist across regions and countries – especially in Southern Asia sub-Saharan Africa.
