WASHINGTON, Sep 15 (OneWorld.net) - About 24,000 children under the age of five died every single day last year, but that's a big improvement..

What's the Story?.

The number of children who die before their fifth birthday is now nearly 30 percent lower than it was in 1990, meaning that 10,000 fewer children are dying around the world every day. And the efforts to keep children healthy are becoming more effective as time goes by, says the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which released the latest numbers last week..

Experts say the decrease in deaths can be traced in large part to the increase in immunizations against measles and other diseases, the growing use of insecticide-treated bednets to prevent malaria, and Vitamin A supplements, which help boost compromised immune systems..

World leaders pledged in 2000 -- as part of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) -- to commit the funding and take the actions necessary to reduce under-five deaths by two-thirds (from 1990 levels) by 2015. While child advocates are pleased with the current trend, they are quick to note that tens of thousands of children are still dying every day from preventable causes, and the world is not on track to meet its goal..

Pneumonia, diarrhea, newborn disorders, malaria, HIV, and under-nutrition are the primary causes of death among young children worldwide. According to UNICEF, new vaccines against certain types of pneumonia and diarrhea may provide additional momentum to further reduce illness and death among young children, but more money and political commitments will be needed to support those efforts. [» Get all the details from UNICEF below.].

Free Health Care Can Save Millions More.

World leaders meeting at the United Nations next Wednesday are expected to accept a proposal to support seven developing countries to fully implement free care for women and children or to expand free health services to all..

The proposal is expected to save millions of lives in Burundi, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Mozambique, Nepal, and Sierra Leone by abolishing so-called "user fees" that have kept large numbers of poor people from getting check ups before and after babies are born or seeking help when they're sick..

Many developing countries instituted user fees in the 1980s and 1990s as a condition of receiving loans from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), notes a coalition of humanitarian organizations that back the proposal to help countries eliminate the fees. In places where health care fees have been dropped, they say, the poorest people have benefitted the most. .

"If free health care had been introduced in 2000 when world leaders promised to reduce child mortality by two-thirds, the lives of more than 2 million children could have been saved by now," said Jasmine Whitbread, the head of Save the Children, which is among the 62 organizations calling on world leaders to not only pass next week's proposal, but to extend free health care to all the world's poorest. [» Read the coalition's full report: "Your Money or Your Life."].

Abolishing health care fees for all and supporting essential health care for mothers and young children would cost less than $1.65 billion a year -- or about $2.28 per person in sub-Saharan Africa, according to Save the Children, which sees this as a relatively modest sum -- when split among the world's superpowers -- for an immense payoff in human lives. By comparison, the U.S. government alone made $700 billion available last year to help its banks and other financial institutions get rid of bad mortgages and other so-called "troubled assets.".

"Leaders have the power and the responsibility to make health care free for poor families," said Whitbread. "Allowing any more children to die because they can't afford treatment is inexcusable." [» Read the full statement from Save the Children, with more details about health care in the seven countries impacted.].

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From: UNICEF.

NEW YORK, 10 September 2009 – UNICEF today released.

new figures that show the rate of deaths of children under five years.

of age continued to decline in 2008..

The data shows 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.".

The new estimates are 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..

Progress has been seen in every part of the world, and even in some.

of the least-developed countries. A key example is Malawi, one of ten.

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..

In 2000, only 3 per cent of children under five slept under a mosquito.

net – a key means of preventing malaria, whereas by 2006 this had risen.

to 25 per cent. Malawi has focused its limited resources on.

improvements in health and health systems and the use of the most.

effective interventions, with the result that significant numbers of.

children’s lives have been saved..

The new data also shows that seven of the 67 high mortality.

countries (those with under-five mortality rates of 40 per thousand.

live births or higher) have consistently achieved annual rates of.

reduction of under-five mortality of 4.5 per cent or higher. These are.

Nepal, Bangladesh, Eritrea, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mongolia,.

Bolivia and Malawi..

Impressive gains have also been made in countries that are not fully.

on track to meet the Millennium goal. Niger, Mozambique and Ethiopia.

have all reduced under-five mortality by more than 100 per 1000 live.

births since 1990..

While progress has been made in many.

countries, the global rate of improvement is still insufficient to.

reach the MDG, and Africa and Asia combined still account for 93 per.

cent of all under-five deaths that occur each year in the developing.

world..

"A handful of countries with large populations bear a.

disproportionate burden of under-five deaths, with forty 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." .

In some countries, progress is slow or non-existent. In South Africa.

the under-five mortality rate has actually gone up since 1990. The.

health of the child is inextricably linked to the health of the mother.

and South Africa has the highest number of women living with HIV in the.

world. Recent commitments by the government to scale up interventions.

to prevent mother-to-child transmission of HIV/AIDS should help improve.

the situation. .

The survey data incorporated in these estimates generally reflects.

mortality over the preceding 3 to 5 years. This means that major.

improvements in provision of nets for malaria prevention, of vaccines.

against meningitis (HiB) and of vitamin A supplementation, improved.

prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and of pediatric HIV,.

and further progress on protecting against measles and tetanus may not.

yet be fully reflected in the data..

Progress can be accelerated even in the poorest environments,.

through integrated, evidence-driven, community-based health programs.

that focus on addressing the major causes of death -- pneumonia,.

diarrhea, newborn disorders, malaria, HIV and under-nutrition..

The two leading causes of under-five mortality are pneumonia and.

diarrhea. New tools, such as vaccines against pneumococcal pneumonia.

and rotaviral diarrhea, could provide additional momentum..

"Achieving the Millennium Development Goal target of a two-thirds.

reduction in under-five mortality by 2015 will require a strong sense.

of urgency with targeted resources for greater progress," said Veneman.

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