NEW DELHI: A study from the UN Interagency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UN IGME) led by Unicef has revealed that although there has been substantial progress globally during the millennium development goal (MDG) target period of 1990-2015, the world has missed the MDG 4 target.
According to the study, published in Lancet, only 62 of 195 countries with available data have met the MDG target of reducing under-5 mortality (U5MR) by two-thirds over 25 years. Experts called for urgent action in regions and countries with high under-5 mortality rates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.
Experts found that the global U5MR has fallen from 91 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1990 to 43 in 2015. During the same period, absolute under-5 deaths worldwide dropped from 12.7 million to 5.9 million. In total, an estimated 236.3 million children under age five died in 1990-2015. The poorest global region of West and Central Africa continues to have the highest U5MR in the world.
Globally, U5MR reduced by 53% in the last 25 years and therefore missed the MDG 4 target.
