Highest Number Of Child Deaths Below 5 In India

UNITED NATIONS:  India’s child mortality rate has dropped by more than half since 1990 but it still recorded the world’s highest number of deaths among children below age five in 2013, a United Nations report said on Tuesday, acknowledging the progress made by the world’s second most populous nation.

The report, ‘Levels and Trends in Child Mortality 2014’, found that India registered 1.34 million under-five deaths in 2013, the highest in the world.

While more Indian children are surviving to their fifth birthday than in 1990, it along with Nigeria still accounted for more than a third of all such deaths in 2013.

Acknowledging the substantial global progress in reducing child deaths since 1990, the report cited the example of countries like India that are “beginning to lead the way”.

The number of under-five deaths in India declined from 3.33 million in 1990 to 1.34 million in 2013. The number of under-five deaths worldwide has declined from 12.7 million in 1990 to 6.3 million in 2013.

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