| A baby in Chupanga camp, near Caia, in Mozambique, where 3000 have sought refuge from the recent floods. A UNICEF report said this week that the fourth Millennium Development Goal —reducing the child mortality rate by two-thirds for under-fives — will not be achieved by 2015. The State of the World’s Children, published on Tuesday, calls for international action to attain all the goals.
The report says there has been a marked improvement in the quality and accessibility of primary healthcare, but says there is still a long way to go. In 1960, about 20 million children died before they were five; in 2006 the annual number of child deaths was 9.7 million, the lowest since records began.
There has been a reduction in diseases such as measles, polio, and malaria, together with the complete eradication of smallpox, says the report. Improved water, sanitation, and hygiene practices have helped reduce the incidence of diarrhoeal diseases.
But the problem still lies with lack of access to effective treatment for children who contract illnesses such as pneumonia, which accounts for about 20 per cent of all deaths of children under five.
Tackling malnutrition also remains a key concern: almost 50 per cent of childhood deaths are associated with the condition. In addition, one in four pregnant women receives no ante-natal care.
Countries across Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia have achieved almost no progress at all on the fourth goal.
www.unicef.org
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