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UNICEF: Kyrgyzstan ranks 79th out of 184 countries on neonatal mortality rate

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Bishkek, Feb. 20, 2018 / Kabar/. Global deaths of newborn babies remain alarmingly high, particularly among the world’s poorest countries, UNICEF said today in a new report on newborn mortality. Babies born in Japan, Iceland and Singapore have the best chance at survival, while newborns in Pakistan, the Central African Republic and Afghanistan face the worst odds. With neonatal mortality rate of 11.6 or equivalent to 1 in 86 (deaths per 1, 000 live births in 2016), the rank of Kyrgyzstan is 79 out of 184 countries – for the full list of rankings on newborn mortality for all countries, click here .

“While we have more than halved 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,” said Henrietta H. Fore, UNICEF’s Executive Director. “Given that the majority of these deaths are preventable, clearly, we are failing the world’s poorest babies.”

Globally, in low-income countries, the average newborn mortality rate is 27 deaths per 1,000 births, the report says. In high-income countries, that rate is 3 deaths per 1,000. Newborns from the riskiest places to give birth are up to 50 times more likely to die than those from the safest places.

Highest newborn mortality rates

Lowest newborn mortality rates

1. Pakistan: 1 in 22

1. Japan: 1 in 1,111

2. Central African Republic: 1 in 24

2. Iceland: 1 in 1,000

3. Afghanistan: 1 in 25

3. Singapore: 1 in 909

4. Somalia: 1 in 26

4. Finland: 1 in 833

5. Lesotho: 1 in 26

5. Estonia: 1 in 769

6. Guinea-Bissau: 1 in 26

5. Slovenia: 1 in 769

7. South Sudan: 1 in 26

7. Cyprus: 1 in 714

8. Côte d'Ivoire: 1 in 27

8. Belarus: 1 in 667

9. Mali: 1 in 28

8. Luxembourg: 1 in 667

10. Chad: 1 in 28

8. Norway: 1 in 667

8. Republic of Korea: 1 in 667

More than 80 per cent of newborn deaths are due to prematurity, complications during birth or infections such as pneumonia and sepsis, the report says.

“In Kyrgyzstan, a significant progress has been achieved in decreasing under five mortality rate. However, we need to do more to help newborns survive their first month of life. These deaths of children can be prevented with access to well-trained midwives, along with proven solutions like clean water, disinfectants, breastfeeding within the first hour, skin-to-skin contact and good nutrition”, said Yukie Mokuo, UNICEF Representative in Kyrgyzstan.

This month, UNICEF is launching Every Child ALIVE, a global campaign to demand and deliver solutions on behalf of the world’s newborns. Through the campaign, UNICEF is issuing an urgent appeal to governments, health care providers, donors, the private sector, families and businesses to keep every child alive by:

  • Recruiting, training, retaining and managing sufficient numbers of doctors, nurses and midwives with expertise in maternal and newborn care;
  • Guaranteeing clean, functional health facilities equipped with water, soap and electricity, within the reach of every mother and baby;
  • Making it a priority to provide every mother and baby with the life-saving drugs and equipment needed for a healthy start in life; and
  • Empowering adolescent girls, mothers and families to demand and receive quality care.

“Every year, 2.6 million newborns around the world do not survive their first month of life. One million of them die the day they are born," added Yukie Mokuo. "We know we can save the vast majority of these babies with affordable, quality health care solutions for every mother and every newborn. If every country brought its newborn mortality rate down to the high-income average by 2030, 16 million lives could be saved.”

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