Accra, Sept. 10, GNA - The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday released new figures that indicating that the rate of deaths of children under-five years of age continued to decline in 2008. It said in a statement obtained in Accra that data showed a 28 per cent decline in the under-five mortality rate, from 90 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990, to 65 deaths per 1000 live births in 2008. According to these estimates, the absolute number of child deaths in 2008 declined to an estimated 8.8 million from 12.5 million in 1990, the base line year for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). "Compared to 1990, 10,000 fewer children are dying every day," said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. "While progress is being made, it is unacceptable that each year 8.8 million children die before their fifth birthday."

It said the new estimates were the result of collection and analysis of a range of data sources by demographers and health experts from UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations Population Division, guided by technical advisors from a number of major academic institutions.

"The data shows global under-five mortality has decreased steadily over the past two decades, and that the rate of the decline in the under-five mortality rates has increased since the 1990s. "The average rate of decline from 2000 to 2008 is 2.3 per cent, compared to a 1.4 per cent average decline from 1990 to 2000." Public health experts attribute the continuing decline to increased use of key health interventions, such as immunizations, including measles vaccinations, the use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria and Vitamin A supplementation. "Where these interventions have increased, positive results have followed." UNICEF said progress had been seen in every part of the world, and even in some of the least-developed countries. "A key example is Malawi, one of 10 high under-five mortality countries that is now on track to meet the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of a two-thirds reduction in under-five mortality between 1990 and 2015. Estimates show that under-five mortality in Malawi has fallen from 225 deaths per 1000 live births in 1990, to 100 per thousand on 2008. UNICEF said in Ghana, the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey indicated a reduction in mortality rates in children under the age of five by almost 30 per cent from 2003-2008. "Much of this progress similar to global reports has been due to improved immunization, micronutrient supplementation, and malaria prevention, treatment of diarrhoea and other high impact health care interventions and economic interventions. "If Ghana continues to scale along this path, it is possible that the MDG on reducing child mortality may be met by 2015." UNICEF noted that while progress had been made in many countries, the global rate of improvement was still insufficient to reach the MDG, and Africa and Asia combined still accounted for 93 per cent of all under-five deaths that occurred each year in the developing world. "A handful of countries with large populations bear a disproportionate burden of under-five deaths, with 40 per cent of the world's under-five deaths occurring in just three countries: India, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo," said Veneman. "Unless mortality in these countries can be significantly reduced, the MDG targets will not be met." 10 Sept. 09