International Perspective
Figure showing Under-5 mortality by background characteristics
However , other than poverty levels and access to health care , the survival of a child is also inhibited by its sex and the time lag between babies for their mothers .
KDHS reveals that “ male children are more likely than female children to die during their first year of life with 44 deaths versus 37 deaths per 1,000 live births .”
Babies born after a short birth interval -less than two years- are nearly twice as likely to die ( 83 deaths per 1,000 live births ) as babies born after three ( 42 deaths per 1,000 live births ) or four or more years ( 44 deaths per 1,000 live births ) according to the KDHS . On the flip side , the world has made significant strides in improving child survival .
Kenya for example , has reduced her under-5- mortality rate by 52 per cent since 1990s . In 1990 , under-5- mortality rate stood at 102 per 1000 live births compared to a rate of 49 per 1000 live births in 2015 .
UNICEF says that “ progress achieved towards the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) between 2000 and 2015 demonstrated the power of national action , backed by international partnerships , to deliver transformative results . Children born today are significantly less likely to live in poverty than those born at the start of the new millennium .
They are over 40 per cent more likely to survive to their fifth birthday and more likely to be in school .” Despite that “ Inequity is not inevitable .
Inequality is a choice . Promoting equity – a fair chance for every child , for all children – is also a choice . A choice we can make , and must make . For their future , and the future of our world .” Antony Lake , UNICEF Chief Executive Officer concludes in the World ’ s Children 2016 report forward .
58 November-December 2016