Nearly 10 million of the 200 million children worldwide under age 5 who do not get basic health care die from treatable illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia, a U.S.-based charity said Wednesday
Nearly all of the deaths occur in the developing world, with poor children facing twice the risk of dying compared to richer children, according to Save the Children's global report.
Sweden, Norway and Iceland top the ranking in terms of well-being for mothers and children in 146 countries surveyed, while Nigeria ranks last. Eight out of 10 bottom-ranked countries are in sub-Saharan Africa, where four out of five mothers are likely to lose a child in their lifetime, Save the Children said.
The top three among the 55 developing countries ranked in the survey are the Philippines, Peru and South Africa — all surveyed for the first time. Indonesia and Turkmenistan tied for fourth.
Laos, Yemen, Chad, Somalia and Ethiopia were found doing the worst among developing countries, the report said.
An alarming number of countries are failing to provide the most basic health services that would save lives, with 30 percent of children in developing countries not getting basic health intervention such as prenatal care, skilled assistance during birth, immunizations and treatment for diarrhea and pneumonia.
Use of existing, low-cost tools and knowledge could save more than 6 million of the 9.7 million children who die yearly from easily preventable or curable causes, the report said.
They include antibiotics that cost less than 30 U.S. cents to treat pneumonia, the top killer of children under 5, and oral rehydration therapy — a simple solution of salt, sugar and potassium — for diarrhea, the second top killer.
Source: Xinhua/Agencies
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