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.