Better baby care, key to reducing deaths, reports UN health agency
(May 11,2010) Better care for babies during the first month after they are born,
is key to reducing child mortality rates in developing countries, the United Nations
health agency said on Monday, in an update on measures that are essential for the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). An estimated 40 per cent
of deaths of children under the age of five ,occur in the first month of life, most
in the first week, the UN World Health Organization - WHO said in a new report. According
to the agency’s World Health Statistics 2010, major causes of infant deaths include
malnutrition and diseases such as malaria, an illness that can be prevented by ensuring
that newborns sleep under insecticide-treated mosquito nets. Five years ahead
of the 2015 deadline for the achievement of MDGs eight targets agreed upon by world
leaders, WHO noted that there were some striking improvements in some health-related
goals. The percentage of underweight children is estimated to have declined from 25
per cent in 1990 to 16 per cent in 2010, HIV/AIDS infections dropped 16 per cent between
2001 and 2008, and the percentage of the world’s population with access to safe water
increased from 77 per cent to 87 per cent, enough to reach the MDG target. The global
results, however, mask revealed inequalities between countries and regions, due to
conflict, poor governance, or humanitarian and economic crises, the report noted.