Nigeria ranks 11th highest in newborn mortality by UNICEF

diamond hope

February 20, 2018 1:05 PM

The UNICEF has ranked developing countries and stated that out of 1000 births, 37 babies will die in Nigeria.

On Monday, February 19, 2018, the United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) stated that the global death of newborn babies remains alarmingly high, particularly among the worlds poorest countries with Nigeria ranked 11th.

This was disclosed by the UNICEF Executive Director, Henrietta H. Fore, in a new report on newborn mortality released. Fore said every year, 2.6 million newborns around the world do not survive their first month of life, adding that "one million of them die the day they are born."

According to her report, globally in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births, In high-income countries, the rate is three deaths per 1,000.

She stated that "while we have more than half the number of deaths among children under the age of five in the last quarter century, we have not made similar progress in ending deaths among children less than one-month-old. Given that the majority of these deaths are preventable, clearly, we are failing the world's poorest babies."

"The report notes that 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. With the newborn mortality rate of 29 deaths per 1,000 births, the global estimates rank Nigeria as the 11th highest on newborn deaths."

In the same vein, the UNICEF Nigeria's Representative, Mohammed Fall, noted that in the recent Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) conducted by Nigeria Government in 2016/17, the rate of newborn deaths per 1000 births is 37.

According to Fall, this national average hides the differences between the 36 states and the slow progress in some of them.