‘3 under 5 kids died every minute in India’

The ‘Child Mortality Estimates Report 2012’ released by Unicef in New York has said that there have been a total of 69 lakh under-five deaths across the world in 2011,which has decreased from nearly 12 million in 1990.

“About 14,000 fewer children die each day than did two decades ago. Still,almost 19,000 children under five die every day,” the report stated,adding that almost 40 per cent of these children died in the first month of life,mostly from preventable diseases.

According to figures in the Unicef report,as many as 4,534 under-five children died every day and 189 every hour in India,accounting for almost 24 per cent of the world figures.

The global under-five mortality rate has fallen from 87 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 51 per 1,000 live births in 2011,the report said.

Reacting on the high number of under-5 children deaths,WHO’s India Representative Nata Menabde said,”India always had in absolute term high numbers…. We still have a challenge …it is a problem.”

Going by the progress made by India in reducing the child and mother mortality rates,she said,”India is moving steadily towards achieving the MDS targets. India will probably reach or come closer to them provided the current rate is sustained.”

Global under-five mortality rate has fallen from 87 per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 51in 2011. India ranks 49th in the world with under-five mortality rate of 61 per 1,000 live births,against 63 in 2010,the annual report by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation states.

However,more under-five girls are dying than boys. While the male under-5 mortality ratio is 58.8 per 1,000 live births,that for females is 64.1. India has reported an Infant Mortality Rate of 47.2 and Neonatal Mortality Rate of 32.3 per 1,000 live births in 2011.

The report states that the most pronounced drops in under -five mortality rates from 1990 to 2011 (of at least 50 per cent) have occurred in the four regions of Latin America and the Caribbean,East Asia and the Pacific,Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States and the Middle East and North Africa.

Besides,20 high-mortality countries have reduced their mortality rates by more than half since 1990,with Lao People’s Democratic Republic by 72 per cent),Timor-Leste by 70 per cent,Liberia by 68 per cent and Bangladesh by 67 per cent,who achieved a reduction of at least two thirds.

In 2011,around 50 per cent of global under-five deaths occurred in just five countries of India,Nigeria,the Democratic Republic of the Congo,Pakistan and China,with India and Nigeria account for more than a third of all under- five deaths worldwide.

“Sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia face the greatest challenges in child survival,and currently account for more than 80 per cent of global under-five deaths. Their disparity with other regions is becoming more marked as regions such as eastern Asia and northern Africa have cut child deaths by more than two thirds since 1990,” the report states.

Sierra Leone has the highest child mortality rate of 185 per thousand and Singapore has the lowest mortality rate of 2.6 for under-five children.

While there have been 7.56 lakh deaths in Nigeria during the last year,Democratic Republic of the Congo accounts for 4.65 lakh deaths and Pakistan 3.52 lakh deaths of under-five children during 2011.

China reported 2.49 lakh deaths of under-5 kids last year,followed by 1.94 lakh by Ethiopia and 1.34 lakh each by Indonesia and Bangladesh. Uganda with 1.31 lakh such deaths and Afghanistan with 1.28 lakh deaths held the ninth and 10th position in the list of 10 top countries reporting under-five children deaths.

The report also states that globally Pneumonia is the leading killer of children under five,causing 18 per cent of all under-five deaths worldwide – a loss of roughly 1.3 million lives in 2011,the bulk of which occur in just two regions,sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

Globally,the five leading causes of deaths among children under five include pneumonia (18 per cent); pre-term birth complications (14 per cent); diarrhoea (11 per cent); intrapartum-related complications (9 per cent) and malaria (7 per cent). Besides,more than a third of child deaths are attributable to under nutrition globally,the report states. The report released by Unicef says eight of the 10 nations

with the highest rates of under-five mortality are in conflict or in fragile situations.

Despite significant gains in child survival,they are insufficient to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4 of reducing the global under-five mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015.

“Only six of the world’s 10 regions are on track to reach the target. Proven solutions need to be expanded to accelerate progress on child survival faster and farther,” it said.