(MENAFN- Pajhwok Afghan News) KABUL (Pajhwok): Afghanistan is among the top three countries in the world where newborn babies face the worst odds, a UN agency said on Tuesday.
Afghanistan, where one in 25 newborn babies dies, is third behind Pakistan and the Central African Republic, in terms of mortality, according to a UNICEF report.
Deaths of newborn babies remain alarmingly high, particularly among the world€™s poorest countries. Babies born in Japan, Iceland and Singapore have the best chance at survival.
On the contrary, newborns in Pakistan, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan faced the worst odds, the report added.
€œWe have not made progress in ending deaths among children less than one month old,€ acknowledged Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF€™s executive director.
€œGiven that the majority of these deaths are preventable, clearly, we are failing the world€™s poorest babies.€
Globally, the report says, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births in low-income countries. In high-income countries, that rate is 3 deaths per 1,000.
Eight of the 10 most dangerous places to be born are in sub-Saharan Africa, where pregnant women are much less likely to receive assistance during delivery due to poverty, conflict and weak institutions.
If every country brought its newborn mortality rate down to the high-income average by 2030, 16 million lives could be saved.
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