According to this Article by Celia W. Dugger, the annual number of children dying before reaching age five has dropped below nine million for the first time in recorded history. According to data from Unicef, this noteworthy statistic is largely attributed to global endeavors to better children’s chances of survival, especially in the developing world. Child mortality rates have lowered by over a quarter in the last twenty years–65 per 1,000 live births in 2008 from 90 in 1990–based primarily on greater distribution of fairly inexpensive technologies, such as measles vaccines and anti-malaria mosquito nets, and other simple practices, including breast-feeding for the first six-months of life, protecting children from diarrheal diseases attributed to dirty water. The actions of wealthy nations, international agencies, philanthropists, schoolchildren, and church groups have contributed to the distribution of mosquito nets and have funded feeding programs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/world/10child.html?ref=health
Tags: child mortality
