Half of world’s child deaths occur in Africa

By Stephanie Nieuwoudt

The report, “The State of Africa’s Children 2008,” was launched on May 28 at the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development in Japan. It looks at the successes and failures of governments regarding the health and survival of the children of Africa and is complementary to a broader UNICEF report on the health of the world’s children.

The facts are shocking. Although Africa accounts for only 22 percent of births globally, half of the 10 million child deaths annually occur on the continent. Africa is the only continent that has seen rising numbers of deaths among children under five-years-old since the 1970s.

Many of these children die of preventable and curable diseases. Read more...