Progress in expanding breast-feeding and fighting measles and
malaria has improved the health of children worldwide, but many in
developing nations still don't have enough to eat, UNICEF said on
yesterday.
The United Nations Children's Fund released a report on global
child health, citing some strides while pointing to persistent
problems in sub-Saharan Africa and elsewhere.
"We're seeing some significant progress in a number of areas in
different parts of the world," Alan Court, UNICEF chief of
programs, told reporters. "There's a lot more to do."
UNICEF reported in September that annual global deaths of
children under age 5 fell below the 10 million mark in 2006, to 9.7
million, for the first time on record, marking a reduction of about
60 percent in the under-5 mortality rate since 1960.
More women are following advice to exclusively breast-feed their
babies for the first six months of life.
About 37 percent of babies in developing countries are being
exclusively breast-fed, up from 33 percent a decade earlier,
according to the report. In sub-Saharan Africa, the rate was 30
percent, up from 22 percent a decade ago.
Breast-feeding provides nutritional benefits that can avert 13
percent of deaths of children under 5 in developing countries, the
report said.
Countries beset with the mosquito-borne disease malaria have
expanded the use of a key prevention tool among children -
insecticide-treated bed nets, with many countries at least tripling
coverage between since 2000, the report said.
Court also cited figures released last week showing that measles
deaths fell by 91 percent in Africa between 2000 and 2006 due to an
initiative to vaccinate children.
(Agencines via China Daily December 10, 2007?)