The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

The under five child mortality rate in Bangladesh has been reduced by over 50 per cent since 1990, according to new figures released by UNICEF on Thursday.

"A number of countries have made particularly good progress in reducing under-five mortality, including Lao PDR, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Nepal, each of which has reduced their under-five mortality rates by more than 50 per cent since 1990," a UNICEF press release said.

These countries are on the track to reach the MDG target to reduce by two-thirds the under-five mortality rate between 1990 and 2015, the release said.

There has also been significant progress in parts of Africa. Eritrea's under-five mortality rate declined by 52 per cent between 1990 and 2007. In Malawi, Mozambique, Niger, and Ethiopia child mortality rates have declined by more than 40 per cent across the same period.

However, the highest child mortality is still found in Africa. In Sierra Leone, the country with the worst under-five mortality rate in the world, 262 out of every 1,000 children die before their fifth birthday.

The new estimates show a 27 per cent decline in the under- five mortality rate, from 93 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990, to 68 deaths per 1000 live births in 2007. In industrialized countries there are, on average, just six deaths for every 1,000 live births. According to this data, 12.7 million children under five died around the world in 1990, and in 2007 child deaths declined to about 9.2 million.

"Since 1960, the global under-five mortality rate has declined more than 60 per cent, and the new data shows that downward trend continues," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M.Veneman. "While progress has been made, much remains to be done."

Under-nutrition is a contributing cause of more than one- third of the 9.2 million under-five deaths worldwide. While there has also been progress in reducing the percentage of under age five children who are underweight since 1990, an estimated 148 million children in the developing world remain undernourished, the release said.

"To ensure these children have the opportunity to survive, efforts to address the nutritional needs of women, infants, and children must be accelerated.".

"Recent data also indicate encouraging improvements in many of the basic health interventions, such as early and exclusive breastfeeding, measles immunisation, Vitamin A supplementation, the use of insecticide-treated nets to prevent malaria, and prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS," said Veneman.

"These interventions are expected to result in further declines in child mortality over the coming years."