UNICEF has estimated that around 48,000 babies will be born in the Eastern and Southern African region on New Year’s Day.
In 2016, an estimated 2,600 children around the world died within the year’s first 24 hours. 136,000 newborns died in Ethiopia and Tanzania combined, placing them in fifth and ninth position, respectively, among the ten countries with the highest neonatal deaths in the world.
UNICEF has appealed to national governments to make sure more newborns survive their first days of life. According to a recent report, over 80% of all newborn deaths are due to preventable and treatable causes such as premature birth, complications during delivery, and infections like sepsis and pneumonia.
“This New Year, UNICEF’s resolution is to help give every child more than an hour, more than a day, more than a month – more than survival,” said Leila Pakkala, UNICEF’s Regional Director in Eastern and Southern Africa. “We call on governments and partners to maintain and expand their efforts to save millions of children’s lives by providing proven, low-cost solutions.”
UNICEF says that babies born in Eastern and Southern Africa will account for 12 per cent of the estimated 386,000 babies to be born globally on New Year’s Day. Almost 58 per cent of these births will take place in five countries within the region, with the largest number of births on New Year’s Day projected for Ethiopia.
